Saudi Arabia is building water infrastructure at scale. With no perennial rivers and limited aquifers, the kingdom has placed desalination, conveyance and storage at the core of its economic strategy. Its latest seven-year plan for the water sector points to a total of 50 major announced projects – evidence of a pipeline designed to meet demand.

This demand is climbing rapidly. Population growth and industrial expansion will push national water needs towards nearly 18 million cubic metres a day (cm/d) by 2030. Supply is rising to meet it: installed potable-water production is slated to grow from around 11.34 million cm/d today to 15.82 million cm/d by 2028, with eight large desalination plants needing to be commissioned within that window. By 2030, it is projected that desalination will cover 92% of urban needs, with groundwater providing the balance in a few inland regions.

The procurement model has shifted to make this feasible. After years of state-funded projects, public-private partnerships (PPPs) now dominate new capacity. Since 2019, SWPC – Saudi Arabia’s principal buyer of all types of water – has rolled out a series of independent water plants (IWPs) and independent sewage treatment plants (ISTPs), standardising contracts and tendering to court private capital. The result has been a queue of developers – both local and international – racing to stake a claim in the growing market.

As the market expands, new value is emerging everywhere. Wastewater, for example, is becoming a strategic resource. The first three utility-scale ISTPs can supply up to 600,000 cm/d of recycled water for irrigation or industry, with a second wave adding 400,000 cm/d. Meanwhile, a national transmission build-out is under way, including a first generation of independent water transmission pipelines (IWTPs) and a programme of strategic reservoirs. By 2029, new trunk lines of about 1,640 kilometres aim to move roughly 2.465 million cm/d. And strategic storage is being lifted towards seven days of reserve supply this decade, with the first PPP reservoir tendered at Juranah near Mecca.

The upshot is a market with depth and variety: mega-scale seawater reverse osmosis (RO) on the coasts, ISTPs in growing cities, long-haul transmission to inland demand centres and strategic tanks to smooth shocks. For investors, it offers long-dated, contract-backed cashflows and a steady flow of new project opportunities.

Project snapshots

Zooming in on a few exemplar projects in Saudi Arabia’s water market highlights just how active it is. Consider the Buraydah 2 ISTP, a 150,000 cm/d treatment plant with matching treated-water storage of 150,000 cubic metres across six tanks and a transmission capacity of 277,500 cm/d via 33.4km of pipeline. The developer consortium behind the project will deliver it under a long-term PPP and power it with biogas and solar renewable energy.

Next, Tabuk 2. The ISTP is designed for 90,000 cm/d and a 135,000 cm/d peak. Commercial operation began earlier in 2025, and likewise integrates renewables – solar and biogas – to cover about two-thirds of its energy needs. It also applies the same 90%-dry, environmentally safe sludge standard as Buraydah 2.

Madinah 3 ISTP is another example. It boasts capacity of 200,000 cm/d, supported by 133,332 cubic metres of treated-sewage-effluent storage, across four tanks in two locations. The transmission system is sized to 300,000 cm/d and includes a 110/13.8kV substation. The scope spans the plant, storage and irrigation pumping, with renewables included.

Finally, Al-Haer ISTP in Riyadh. A 200,000 cm/d facility for the capital’s south, the ISTP is engineered for a 320,000 cm/d peak flow rate. Storage totals 200,000 cubic metres across four 50,000-cubic-metre tanks; scheduled to begin operation at the end of 2025, the design includes a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, adheres to the 90%-dryness sludge benchmark and has a contract term of 25 years.

How SWPC can help

For would-be entrants, the counterparty matters. SWPC is the kingdom’s central offtaker and PPP procurer, offering a single point of contact and a standardised route into a complex system. One interlocutor, one set of documents and bankable water-purchase agreements with obligations backed by the state – all the safety and security investors need.

Process quality is part of the attraction. SWPC runs structured RFQs, RFPs, publishes draft contracts and engages through roadshows and consultations. That transparency reduces bid risk, shortens learning curves and helps foreign firms align their pricing and technology to local conditions. Investors face fewer moving parts and benefit from boosted regulatory consistency compared with fragmented municipal markets.

Risk allocation is pragmatic. Under 20- to 30-year concessions the private side finances, builds and operates; SWPC commits to offtake and pays under long-term contracts. Payment risk is moderated by sovereign backing via the kingdom’s Ministry of Finance. The model has already supported desalination, ISTPs, transmission pipelines and strategic reservoirs like those listed above. Altogether, it gives newcomers confidence that precedents exist across the value chain.

SWPC’s robust tender process and willingness to engage with international operators make entry feasible for a wide range of infrastructure investors – whatever their size, wherever they are based. The market offers something rare in infrastructure: scale, policy clarity and credible counterparties, all in the same place.

To explore the investment opportunities that could be open to you, and to learn how SWPC can smooth the path to success, fill in your details here.