Saudi Arabia’s Water & Electricity Company (WEC) has received expressions of interest (EOI) from 71 companies for the planned Yanbu 4 independent water project (IWP).

MEED reported in March that WEC had invited developers to submit EOIs for the Yanbu project by 11 April. The desalination plant is planned to have a capacity of 450,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

The list of 71 developers, which includes 30 local companies, can be found here on the WEC website.

The project will be developed with a concession period of 25 years, under which the successful developer will sign a water purchase agreement (WPA) with the Saudi government.

WEC has appointed Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation as lead and financial adviser, with the UK’s DLA Piper and Austria’s ILF Consulting Engineers as legal and technical advisers respectively.

The project is part of Saudi Arabia’s programme to increase its desalination capacity through partnerships with the private sector.

MEED reported in early March that local developer Acwa Power had signed the final financial contracts for the planned $700m Rabigh 3 IWP.

The developer signed the WPA with WEC, which will be the offtaker for the plant, in December.