led consortium Aqualia (51%) and Saudi companies also participated Tawzea (39%) and HAACO (10%) have just signed the contract for their services. award of contract for management, operation and maintenance (English abbreviation MOM: Management, Operation and Maintenance) Comprehensive water cycle in Saudi’s Qassim, Hail, Al-Jouf and Northern Border regions from the north of the kingdom.
Aqualia is the official leader of the consortium according to the public procurement rules. The so-called Northern Cluster, which brings together these four regions of Northern Arabia more than three million people In an extension equivalent to three-quarters of Spain (380,000 km2), it is one of the 6 Clusters, the territory of Arabia, which the client of the contract, the state entity NWC (National Water Company), has divided the country for the better. management of water supply and sanitation services.
The ultimate goal of this program of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, incentive for private sector participation in water and sanitation management and overall improvement of efficiency in the country.
With this Northern Cluster contract run by a team of multidisciplinary experts from consortium companies, management will be optimized and social sustainability will be ensured.environmental and economic aspects of the integral water cycle of the vast northern Saudi region.
The contract includes, among other assets, its management, 92 water treatment plants657 reservoirs, 664 collection wells, 150 drinking water pumping stations, 67 tank filling stations, 18,000 kilometers of main pipeline, 14 wastewater treatment plants and 7,000 kilometers of sewerage network.
Saudi privatization program
The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) has developed a National Water Strategy (NWS 2030) that addresses the following issues as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan, which aims at the modernization and sustainable development of the country. key challenges of the industry As a result of this process, through policies and institutional reform initiatives, the National Water Corporation (NWC) was empowered to run an integrated program to attract the private sector to improve the efficiency of the service.
The program aims at restructuring the national water system in six regional distribution units (clusters). For the development of this process; specialized private companies. This institutional and legal reform in the country aims to ensure the financial sustainability of the water sector and will be developed in two phases:
Phase 1: Implementation of Management, O&M contracts (MOM Contracts) in each cluster for 7 years.
Phase 2: Implementation of long-term concession agreements in each cluster.
The six administrative/geographic areas identified by clusters are: East Cluster (eastern part of the country); Western Cluster (Mecca region); Northern Cluster (Qassim, Hall, Al-Jouf and northern border areas); Northwest Cluster (Medina and Tabuk regions); Central Cluster (central region of the country); and the currently governed Southern Cluster (regions of Asir, Baha, Najran and Jazan), whose management was given to Aqualia at the beginning of the year in execution.
Between the two contracts awarded to Aqualia, Clúster Sur and Clúster Norte, the company will manage the water of more than 8 million people and area larger than Spain.
The management of the water cycle of the other 4 administrative divisions was given to consortia led by the French Suez, Saur and Veolia.
Aqualia, comparison
Aqualia has been operating in the Middle East since 2011. In Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, he developed an important project for five years to optimize the city’s water supply. best service To more than 3 million inhabitants.
In the same country, Aqualia currently manages (also implemented by the FCC group) and operates and maintains services affected by the capital’s metro works. sewage treatment plants Hadda and Arana in the city of Mecca.
At the beginning of 2020, Aqualia acquired 51% of HAAISCO (Haji Abdullah Alireza Integrated Services Ltd) from Saudi group Haji Abdullah Alireza. There is also the factory at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, a concession of the Qatarat company, among which Aqualia is. bought 51% in the same operation.
With these acquisitions began an alliance with significant achievements in a short period of time, such as the award of water supply to one of the main industrial complexes in Saudi Arabia in Jizan (southwest of the Kingdom) in 2021.
Similarly, Aqualia operates and maintains two other desalination plants in Saudi Arabia through HAAISCO.
Aqualia among world leaders
Aqualia is a water management company owned by citizen services group FCC (51%) and Australian ethics fund IFM Investors (49%). company fourth water company in Europe and ninth in the world by population servedbased on the latest Global Water Intelligence ranking (March 2021).
It currently serves 45 million users in 17 countries: Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Spain, France, Italy, Mexico, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Czech Republic, Romania and Georgia. . In fiscal 2021, the company had a turnover of 1,170 million euros and maintained a business portfolio of over 15,000 million euros.