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Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has inaugurated two major water and wastewater projects in the Eastern Province.

The ceremony was held under the patronage of Prince Saud Bin Nayef Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, governor of the Eastern Province, and attended by Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, minister of environment, water and agriculture, along with senior officials and the SWPC executive team.

The Jubail 3B independent water plant (IWP), which reached commercial operations last year, has a desalination capacity of 570,000 cubic metres a day, supported by storage facilities of equal size.

The project includes a 3.5-kilometre transmission pipeline, 167 electrical towers and 59.3km of overhead transmission lines. It is being delivered under a build, own and operate (BOO) model by a consortium of Engie (France, 40%), Aljan (Saudi Arabia, 30%) and Nesma (Saudi Arabia, 30%).

The total cost is SR2.64bn ($704m), with a 25-year concession to serve Riyadh and Qassim. The scheme also integrates 61MW of renewable energy and applies local content targets rising from 40% during construction to 70% after six years of operation.

The Dammam West independent sewage treatment plant (ISTP) has a treatment capacity of 200,000 cubic metres a day. Developed under a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model, the project is led by Metito (UAE, 40%), Orascom (Egypt, 20%) and Mowah (Saudi Arabia, 40%).

The $185m facility is operated by the Dammam West Company for Water under a 25-year contract to serve the Dammam region.

According to SWPC, local content will increase from 50% during the early years of operation to 70% after the sixth year.