Under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Dr. Faisal bin Mishaal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Qassim Region, His Excellency the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Water Partnership Company, Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadhli, signed today at the headquarters of the Emirate of Qassim Region, agreements for the establishment of the independent water transmission pipeline project (Jubail – Buraidah) with the consortium of Aljomaih Energy and Water Company, Nesma Company Ltd. and Bahaour Investment.
The independent water transmission pipeline project (Jubail – Buraidah) comes as a qualitative step in enhancing water security and linking the eastern and Qassim regions with drinking water, at a total cost of 8.5 billion riyals, and the project extends for a distance of 587 kilometers, with a design transmission capacity of up to 650 thousand cubic meters per day of desalinated water with the possibility of reverse pumping from Shamasiyah Governorate through Al-Qulaib to the city of Jubail and with the full capacity of the project in line with the plans of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture to connect regions with drinking water throughout the Kingdom, ensuring high levels of continuous supply of drinking water in the two regions. The project also includes 6 strategic reservoirs in Al Shamasiya Governorate and 3 strategic reservoirs in Jubail with a total capacity of (1,634,500) cubic meters, to ensure the sustainability of water supply and improve the efficiency of distribution in the two areas.
His Excellency the Minister expressed his thanks and appreciation to His Highness the Governor of Qassim Region for his sponsorship and support for development projects in the region, stressing the importance of the private sector’s participation in investing in the development of the water sector in all regions of the Kingdom, and increasing its contribution to development, in order to achieve the goals of Vision 2030, in addition to improving the quality of services and raising the efficiency of spending, by benefiting from the expertise of the private sector in construction, operation and management.
Eng. Al-Fadhli explained that the signing of the agreements comes within the achievement of the ministry’s plans and strategic objectives aimed at implementing water transmission line projects with the participation of investors in the various regions of the Kingdom, as an extension of many previous projects that were implemented with the participation of the private sector to develop this vital sector.
For his part, the CEO of the Saudi Water Partnership Company, Eng. Khalid bin Zuwaid Al-Quraishi, explained that the project was offered to investors under the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) system, and (32) companies competed for it, including (14) Saudi companies, and the choice was made on the consortium of Aljomaih Energy and Water Company, Nesma Company Ltd. and Bahour Investment Company, indicating that The commercial operation of the project will begin in the second quarter of 2029, with a concession agreement period of (35) years from the achievement of commercial operation – God willing -.
Al-Quraishi stressed that theproject will contribute, God willing, to improving the efficiency of water transmission, operating efficiency, reducing levels of electrical energy consumption, and will contribute to meeting the growing needs for drinking water in the Eastern and Qassim regions, in addition to supporting local content by increasing the percentage of Emiratization in business and human resources.
It is noteworthy that the Ministry is working to create a developed and attractive investment environment to enhance partnership with the private sector, by developing investment plans and initiatives and offering them for optimal investment, in addition to enabling investors to access various investment opportunities, which contributes to achieving its strategic objectives in the environment, water and agriculture sectors.
