KSA’s SPWC opens tender for more desalination plants and Al-Futtaim partners with e& on EVs

MORE DESALINATION IN KSA-

SWPC issues tenders for Jubail 4 and 6: The Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has issued tenders to the pre-qualified bidders for the Jubail 4 & 6 Independent Water Projects (IWP), which will have a total capacity of 600k cu m/day, Trade Arabia reports. The tenders include the finance, development, operation, and maintenance of the seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination water project in Jubail Industrial City. The plant will be located next to the existing plant units — Jubail Phase 1, Jubail Phase 2, Jubail 3A and 3B. The projects will start commercial operations in 3Q 2027. The successful bidder will develop the project and then sell the capacity and output to SWPC under a 25-year water purchase agreement.

The bidders: SWPC said nine utility developers, including two in consortiums, had qualified for the project last September, the report adds. These include Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, Acciona Agua, Acwa Power, and Engie.

REMEMBER- Not KSA's first reverse osmosis plant: Acwa Power, Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC), and Al Bawani Water and Power Company inaugurated in June the solar-powered Jubail 3A independent water desalination plant, which uses reverse osmosis technology.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES-

Al-Futtaim Electric Mobility Company and e& will partner to deploy a fleet of 100 BYD electric vehicles in the UAE, according to a statement. The BYD Atto 3 vehicles have a range of 420 km on a single charge and will be integrated into e&'s fleet in a phased rollout in a bid to achieve e&'s netzero commitments covering Scope 1 and 2, by 2030.

REMEMBER- Al-Futtaim is big on green mobility: Al-Futtaim Toyota said it intends to supply taxi franchise company Cars Taxi’s vehicle fleet with 1.3k Toyota Camry hybrid vehicles last November. Al-Futtaim Trading Enterprise will also roll out Volvo’s all-electric EX30 SUV in the UAE this month.