How Saudi Arabia Became the World’s Largest Desalinated Water Producer

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How Saudi Arabia Became the World’s Largest Desalinated Water Producer

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Over a century ago, Saudi Arabia, with its dry desert climate, started desalinating water using the “Kandasa” machine on the shores of Jeddah. Today, it is the world's largest producer of desalinated water and holds nine Guinness World Records.
The “Kandasa,” named after the Latin word “Condenser,” used coal to condense and distill seawater into fresh water.
In 1926, due to a lack of fresh water for pilgrims arriving in Jeddah, King Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered two large desalination machines to meet water needs.
A major turning point came in 1974 with the creation of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (now the Saudi Water Authority).
Today, Saudi Arabia operates 33 desalination plants, including eight on the Arabian Gulf and 25 on the Red Sea coast. These plants produce 5.6 million cubic meters of fresh water daily, supplying 70% of the country's desalinated water, making Saudi Arabia the world's largest producer.
In February, the Saline Water Conversion Corporation set nine Guinness World Records by producing over 11.5 million cubic meters of desalinated water daily.
Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s largest investors in water desalination, with major investments in desalination plants.
Mohammed Al Sheikh, from the Saudi Water Authority, spoke at COP16 in Riyadh, noting that Riyadh gets desalinated water through a 500-kilometer pipeline, part of an advanced water system built over four decades.
The government has allocated over $80 billion for water projects in the coming years.
Saudi Arabia is sharing its desalination expertise. In July 2024, it signed an agreement with the World Bank to help low-income countries adopt its successful water strategies, including better water management and cost-cutting techniques. The goal is to support countries in improving water efficiency and sustainability, in line with the UN’s goal for clean water and sanitation.
Al Sheikh also highlighted the kingdom’s shift to energy-efficient desalination technologies.
Saudi Arabia has moved from thermal methods to reverse osmosis, cutting energy use by up to 80%. The country aims to produce 83% of its desalinated water using reverse osmosis, a key step toward sustainability. This technology is widely used for drinking water, wastewater treatment, and industrial applications.

 



WTO Slashes 2025 Trade Growth Forecast

Chinese made cars, including Volvo and other brands, are seen at the port in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on April 16, 2025, as they wait to be loaded onto ships for export. (Photo by AFP)
Chinese made cars, including Volvo and other brands, are seen at the port in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on April 16, 2025, as they wait to be loaded onto ships for export. (Photo by AFP)
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WTO Slashes 2025 Trade Growth Forecast

Chinese made cars, including Volvo and other brands, are seen at the port in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on April 16, 2025, as they wait to be loaded onto ships for export. (Photo by AFP)
Chinese made cars, including Volvo and other brands, are seen at the port in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on April 16, 2025, as they wait to be loaded onto ships for export. (Photo by AFP)

The World Trade Organization sharply cut its forecast for global merchandise trade from solid growth to a decline on Wednesday, saying further US tariffs and spillover effects could lead to the heaviest slump since the height of the COVID pandemic.
The WTO said it expected trade in goods to fall by 0.2% this year, down from its expectation in October of 3.0% expansion. It said its new estimate was based on measures in place at the start of this week, Reuters reported.
US President Donald Trump imposed extra duties on steel and car imports as well as more sweeping global tariffs before unexpectedly pausing higher duties on a dozen economies. His trade war with China has also intensified with tit-for-tat exchanges pushing levies on each other's imports beyond 100%.
The WTO said that, if Trump reintroduced the full rates of his broader tariffs that would reduce goods trade growth by 0.6 percentage points, with another 0.8 point cut due to spillover effects beyond US-linked trade.
Taken together, this would lead to a 1.5% decline, the steepest drop since 2020.
"The unprecedented nature of the recent trade policy shifts means that predictions should be interpreted with more caution than usual," said the WTO, which is also forecasting a modest recovery of 2.5% in 2026.
Earlier on Wednesday, the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) agency said global economic growth could slow to 2.3% as trade tensions and uncertainty drive a recessionary trend.
The Geneva-based WTO said disruption of US-China trade was expected to increase Chinese merchandise exports across all regions outside North America by between 4% and 9%.
Other countries would have opportunities to fill the gap in the United States in sectors such as textiles, clothing and electrical equipment.
Services trade, though not subject to tariffs, would also take a hit, the WTO said, by weakening demand related to goods trade such as transport and logistics. Broader uncertainty could dampen spending on travel and investment-related services.
The WTO said it expected commercial services trade to grow by 4.0% in 2025 and 4.1% in 2026, well below baseline projections of 5.1% and 4.8%.
The expected downturn follows a strong 2024, when the volume of world merchandise trade grew by 2.9% and commercial services trade expanded by 6.8%.