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Saudi Arabia inaugurated the Middle East’s largest reverse osmosis (RO) membrane manufacturing facility in Dammam on Wednesday, marking a major step in advancing the Kingdom’s industrial self-sufficiency and water security goals under Vision 2030.
The factory, located in Dammam’s Third Industrial City, represents a 1 billion Saudi riyals ($266 million) investment and is a joint venture between Saudi’s Abunayyan Holding and Japan’s Toray Industries, local media reports by akhbaar24.com and other outlets said.
It has an annual production capacity of 300,000 RO membranes used in desalination and industrial water treatment plants, they said.
The plant, Toray’s second outside Japan, was inaugurated by Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province, in the presence of Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Abdullah Al-Abdulkarim, President of the Saudi Water Authority, and other senior officials.
The factory supports Saudi Arabia’s strategy to localiase key components of its desalination industry - a sector that currently supplies most of the country’s potable water - and reduce dependence on imports amid growing regional demand estimated at 700,000 membranes annually, according to Abdullah Al-Abdulkarim, President of the Saudi Water Authority (SWA).
The project achieved 70 percent localisation, expected to rise to 75 percent, and will create over 175 Saudi jobs, he noted in his speech, posted on X by SWA.
He said the Kingdom's shift toward energy-efficient desalination technologies has cut carbon emissions by 46 million tonnes annually, saved 147 million barrels of fuel equivalent, and generated SAR 14 billion ($3.7 billion) in annual financial savings.
(Writing by Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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