State desalination company Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) has selected a consortium led by local developer Acwa Power for the second-phase desalination expansion of the Shuaiba 3 independent water and power project (IWPP) in Saudi Arabia.

According to sources close to the project, Acwa Power has been selected to develop the scheme under an independent water producer (IWP) contract, with Spain’s Abengoa as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.

The project will involve building a reverse osmosis (RO) desalination facility, which will have a capacity of about 250,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).US/Indian Synergy Consulting is the financial and lead adviser to SWCC for the project.

The original Shuaiba 3 IWPP and Shuaiba 3 IWPP first-phase desalination expansion were commissioned in 2009, with the first expansion project integrating RO technology into the development.

The Shuaiba 3 IWPP was developed by a consortium of Acwa Power and Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Malakoff.

SWCC is increasing the role of private investment in the desalination sector as part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030. It is also preparing to privatise existing assets. SWCC forecasts it needs to increase the current desalination capacity of 5.1 million cm/d to 7.3 million cm/d by 2020 to meet growing demand.

MEED recently reported that SWCC had invited consultants to submit proposals for two major planned desalination projects.

The state utility has invited consultants to submit proposals for financial, legal and technical advisory roles on a planned 450,000 cubic-metre-a-day (cm/d) Yanbu facility and a 380,000-cm/d project planned at Shuqaiq.