Saudi Arabia’s Water & Electricity Company (WEC) has requested expressions of interest (EOS) for the development of an independent water project (IWP) in the Yanbu province. Once the project is complete, the IWP will boast a potable water capacity of up to 450,000cu/m per day.

The desalination plant will use reverse osmosis (RO) seawater desalination technology and will be located near the town of Ar Rayyis (140 km west of Madinah), on Saudi’s Red Sea coast. The power supply will be facilitated from the country’s high voltage network, a statement from WEC said.

Billed as a strategic project, the Yanbu Phase 4 IWP is expected to have several leading global industry experts in advisory roles. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation DIFC Branch are the lead and financial advisors for the transaction, while DLA Piper Middle East LLP are the legal advisors while ILF Consulting Engineers are the technical advisors.

WEC said it will conduct a competitive process to select a developer or developer consortium for the development, financing, procurement, implementation, operation and maintenance of the desalination plant, together with associated infrastructure and facilities.

Additionally, the utility company said that under a 25-year water purchase agreement, the winning developer or developer consortium will sell the entire capacity and output of the project to WEC.