Saur wins a 5-year extension of its partnership with Marafiq for the operation of the industrial cities of Jubail, Yanbu and Ras Al-Khair (Saudi Arabia)
In 2011, Saur and Marafiq (the leading Saudi private-sector water and electricity services provider) together formed MaSa to operate and maintain the water supply, wastewater treatment and industrial cooling services for Jubail, the world’s largest petrochemicals complex. Eight years later, the joint venture between the two operators has been extended for a further five years.
The experience gained since 2011 and the confidence of the Saudi authorities in the joint venture contributed to its 7 January renewal and extension of the contract to 2024 under the terms of an operation and maintenance contract awarded to MaSa, which is 51% owned by Marafiq and 49% by Saur. The challenges of the new contract focus around cost optimisation, improved operational performance, facilities upgrading, the rollout of action plans that include employees training, skills transfer and service digitalisation.
Between 2012 and 2019, MaSa delivered fully on the expectations set out for the initial partnership, particularly in terms of reducing water losses, the increasing proportion of Saudi nationals in the workforce, higher production and compliance with health & safety, and environmental standards.
Over the period, MaSa has gradually extended its business to include three major industrial cities:
Founded by the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, Jubail Industrial City on the Arabic Gulf is currently the Kingdom's fastest-growing industrial centre. Since 2012, MaSa has provided 100% of the drinking water supply for 250,000 residents, domestic wastewater treatment services for Jubail Industrial City and Jubail Town, industrial wastewater treatment for the Jubail Industrial Zone and industrial process cooling for 28 major industrial sites. The total daily consumption volume of 320,000 m3 is supplied via 1,700 km of pipeline networks. Wastewater is treated by a domestic treatment plant rated at 142,000 m³ per day, and an industrial treatment plant with a capacity of 150,000 m³ per day. Industrial equipment cooling for 17 major customers is handled by an open cooling water supply channel that pumps and delivers 1.2 million m³ per day. In 2015, MaSa took delivery of a (reverse osmosis) seawater desalination drinking water production plant with a daily capacity of 95,000 m3.
Since 2014, MaSa has also been operating and maintaining the water supply and wastewater treatment facilities for the industrial city of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast, which is the Kingdom’s second-largest industrial complex. At Yanbu, MaSa distributes 90,000 m3 of drinking water per day for 22 industrial companies and 125,000 residents, and treats 100,000 m3 per day of wastewater.
Since 2016, MaSa has operated the water supply facilities for the new industrial city of Ras Al-Khair (100 km north of Jubail), where the main focus is on aluminium production and the processing of phosphate into derived products. Ras Al-Khair is already home to a series of significant infrastructures, including a port and a power generated plant whose electricity is used chiefly to desalinate seawater pumped from the Gulf. MaSa operates two wastewater treatment plants (one domestic and the other industrial), the water supply and wastewater drainage networks, and a seawater cooling plant.
The renewal of this contract reflects the confidence of Marafiq in its partnership with Saur, and its recognition of the improvements made since 2012. It consolidates the presence of Saur in Saudi Arabia at a time when the Kingdom has embarked on an unprecedented programme of water services investment and privatisation.
“I would like to take this opportunity of thanking Marafiq for their continued trust in us through the extension of our partnership, which is one of the largest of its kind in the world, and represents revenue of some €120 million per year. It is also a significant success that contributes to achieving the target set out in our Initiative 2023 roadmap, and sets a key benchmark for realising our growth ambitions this region," says Senior Executive Vice-President International Emmanuel Vivant.
Executive Vice-President International Emmanuel Vivant
This marks a new page in the history of Saur in Saudi Arabia, which began in 2005 with the technical and financial audit of water supply and wastewater treatment services for the cities of Dammam (750,000 residents) and Al Khobar (360,000 residents), followed in 2006 by a quick wins consultancy assignment in Jeddah (3.5 million residents). In partnership with the Zamil Group, these initial experiences have been followed by the management contract for the cities of Mecca and Taif, which includes the delivery of essential water supply and wastewater treatment services for the millions of pilgrims who flock to Mecca every year for the Hajj.