Saudi Arabia develops program to address water supply, demand until 2050: Minister

Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen A. AlFadley, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture 

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) finalized setting the Kingdom’s water strategy, determining its water conservation needs to improve services and ensure their sustainability, Minister Abdulrahman AlFadley stated. 

At Budget Forum 2024 today, Dec. 7, AlFadley said the ministry developed a program to address water supply and demand until 2050, adding that there are plans to deal with this demand and grow it further. The program also focuses on the water sources required to meet this demand. 

In 2016, a total of five million cubic meters (MCM) of desalinated water was produced. 

Meanwhile, the Kingdom currently produces a total of 11 MCM. In two years, this figure will be upgraded to 14 MCM, reaching 18 MCM by 2030, according to the minister. 

He indicated that there are 40 projects worth SAR 97 billion to be offered with the private sector until 2030, noting that a total of 15 projects (estimated at SAR 25 billion) were financially closed during the recent three to four years. 

The water strategy is aimed at reusing treated water in industrial, agricultural, and municipal sectors. 

Regarding self-sufficiency, AlFadley pointed out that there is a clear strategy for food security that identified strategic commodities to achieve this. 

He affirmed that the Kingdom was able to boost self-sufficiency in products that can be produced locally without affecting water levels. 

Within days, an initiative will be announced, focusing on an early warning program to predict the case of scarcity or disruption in supply chains of strategic goods. 

The minister added that there is a program to encourage the private sector to invest outside the Kingdom. This is through loans provided by the Agricultural Development Program (PDA) and guaranteeing the purchase of products from the General Food Security Authority (GFSA), as one million tons of wheat were purchased from Saudi companies.