Saudi SWCC gets bids to advise on plant privatization: report

Saudi Arabia’s Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) has received bids from several banks to advise on the privatization of its $7.2 billion Ras Al Khair desalination and power plant, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed banking sources close to the matter.

Japan’s Mizuho, BNP Paribas and GIB Capital were among the bidders.

SWCC was said to have asked for requests for proposal in June.

Other banks showed interest in the deal, such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), HSBC and Standard Chartered, the sources added.

Ras Al Khair plant which came on line in 2014, will deliver 1.025 billion cubic meters of desalinated water daily to Riyadh and several other areas once at full capacity.

SWCC also invited bids, seeking a financial adviser to build two other water plants. HSBC, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Banque Saudi Fransi and SMBC submitted bids, the sources said.

Last year, the Saudi government announced plans to privatize the Kingdom’s second-largest power provider, which operates nearly 30 desalination plants and currently produces about 20 percent of the world's desalinated water.

State-owned SWCC has also been pushing ahead with several new water and power projects under public-private partnerships (PPP).

Banque Saudi Fransi was named in March as financial advisor to build two greenfield PPP projects.