An Investigation into Seawater Desalination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The area covered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) between the latitudes 32° 14’ 00” and 16° 22’ 46” north means that dry and semi-arid climatic conditions exist in most of the kingdom. The large area of the country (around 2.24 million km2) resulted in classifying the KSA as a continental and drought country. Therefore, it is necessary for the KSA to use seawater desalination technology to provide fresh water due to the scarcity of rainfall and conventional water resources. This investigation tests the hypothesis that reliance on the desalination sector to address the problem of water scarcity in dry regions is capable of achieving a water balance in the KSA, thus attaining water security for the future. This would achieve the KSA’s vision for 2030 for sustainable development. This study discovered that more than two-thirds of the desalination stations in the KSA should be out of service in 2025 and innovative solutions should be immediately found. Therefore, this study has made several recommendations including adequate funding should be secured from the national budget to ensure that future water needs are met in the light of the expected annual increase. Strict policies to minimise the wasted water (around 28% of the total production capacity) should be developed by the KSA’s government.