Saudi Arabia to build world’s largest desalination plant

Saudi Arabia's Saline Water Conversion Corp. (SWCC) has announced plans to build a desalination plant with a capacity of 600,000 cubic meters per day, which would make it the largest plant of its kind in the world, according to Zawya.

The reverse osmosis plant will be located in Rabigh, an ancient town on the western coast of Saudi Arabia, and will supply water to north Jeddah, Makkah and Taif, according to Muhammad Al-Thubaity, director general of SWCC in the Western Region.

RELATED: Renewable energy desalination project aims to improve water security in Middle East

Al-Thubaity said work on the project will begin in the first quarter of 2014 with a scheduled completion date of 2018.

SWCC currently produces around 20.7 percent of the total world production of desalinated water, Zawya reported.