Saudi desalination and water guide

Saudi Arabia's water infrastructure deserves the same attention as its power infrastructure.

SWA's 2025 figures put seawater desalination capacity at approximately 11.9 million m³/day, combining public and private supply. Behind that number is a network of large coastal plants, smaller community systems, industrial utilities, university and airport facilities, and dedicated tourism projects.

This Renewable Vision guide maps that network and explores the connections between water, energy and industry:

• Major plants on the eastern and western coasts.

• Smaller and captive facilities that are often absent from national maps.

• Project pipelines, replacement plants and published water-contract tariffs.

• The role of pumping, water storage and power supply in system efficiency.

• Brine recovery: the chemistry and market conditions that determine whether a resource becomes a viable product.

The accompanying register separates plants from phases, operating facilities from proposals, and seawater desalination from inland water treatment. Unresolved entries are flagged; it is not presented as a census of every small licensed unit.

For planners, the practical question is how to coordinate production, energy, storage and delivery as one water system.