JEDDAH, 12 June 2008 -- Amid efforts to lighten the acute water shortage in sizzling Jeddah, a desalination plant erected on a barge at Shuaiba, south of Jeddah, started pumping 10,000 cubic meters of potable water to the city's network on Tuesday.
The floating plant's capacity is expected to reach 26,000 cubic meters in a short time.
A feature of the facility is that it could be towed to another location for repairs, said Fehied Al-Shareef, governor of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC). According to Abdullah Ahmed Bajunaid, CEO of Bawarij International that executed the project, it took 26 days to tow the floating plant to Shuaiba from Dammam where it was assembled.
In a press statement following the inauguration of the plant, Al-Shareef said, "The SR9.1 billion Shuaiba III desalination plant, which has completed 92 percent of its work, will be commissioned in February 2009."
While the initial production capacity of Shuaiba III will be 230,000 cubic meters, the Shuaiba project will have a combined total capacity of 880,000 cubic meters of four months after commissioning the third plant in addition to 900 megawatts of electricity, Al-Shareef added.
However, Ahmad Al-Muhaidem, deputy governor of SWCC, reportedly said that Shuaiba III would be commissioned only in September next year.
Meanwhile, Abdul Rahman Al-Muhammadi, director of water department in Jeddah, said on Saturday that pumping water to eight East Jeddah districts would remain suspended until the commissioning of Shuaiba III.
Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al-Hussayen promised last month that water crisis in Makkah region would be solved within six months when the third plant in Shuaiba would start pumping water to Makkah, Jeddah and Taif cities.
By Jihad Ziadah
© Arab News 2008
