- Saudi opens Middle East’s largest RO membrane plant in Dammam
- $266M JV produces 300K units/year; 70% localized
- Cuts CO2 by 46M tonnes, saves $3.7B annually
Saudi Arabia has introduced the region's most extensive reverse osmosis (RO) membrane production facility in the Third Industrial City of Dammam, a $266 million (1 billion riyals) joint venture between local conglomerate Abunayyan Holding and Japan's Toray Industries. Marking a significant milestone in the Kingdom's Vision 2030 industrial strategy and water security goals, Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province, officially opened the plant on Wednesday.
The plant, which is the only one of Toray's two facilities outside Japan, has a yearly capacity of 300,000 RO membranes, which are the main components of desalination and industrial water treatment systems. It is at the core of the Saudi local production initiative of the most necessary technologies for desalination, which are the main source of drinking water in the country. However, local demand for RO membranes is at 700,000 units per year, according to Abdullah Al-Abdulkarim, President of the Saudi Water Authority (SWA), which indicates the great importance of local production for reducing dependence on imports.
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The company has already managed to produce 70% of the components and the workforce locally for the project and is planning to raise this figure to 75%, while creating more than 175 jobs for Saudi nationals. Al-Abdulkarim, in his speech, pointed out that the Kingdom had adopted energy-efficient desalination technologies, which have reduced carbon emissions by 46 million tonnes annually, saved the energy equivalent of 147 million barrels of oil, and yielded cost savings of SAR 14 billion ($3.7 billion) per year.
The launch, which was attended by Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli and other senior officials, is a testament to Saudi Arabia's leadership position in the field of sustainable water management. Besides improving national water security by lessening dependence on foreign suppliers and increasing the country's technological capabilities, the Dammam plant is an enabler of industrial growth and is in line with broader environmental and economic diversification goals under Vision 2030.