Saudi Arabia: Solar-powered Desal Plant to be Established in KAEC

Saudi Arabia: Solar-powered Desal Plant to be Established in KAEC
TT

Saudi Arabia: Solar-powered Desal Plant to be Established in KAEC

Saudi Arabia: Solar-powered Desal Plant to be Established in KAEC

KING Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) has signed a contract with Metito Saudi Ltd (Metito) for the design and construction of a seawater desalination plant powered by solar energy and valued at SR220 million.

The seawater treatment and desalination plant will start with the capacity to produce 30,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day, and expandable to 60,000 cubic meters per day. The development period of the project is 24 months, with a plan to start production in the first quarter of the year 2020, according to a report by KAEC.

The new plant will be the second desalination plant in KAEC with an objective to increase the production capacity of drinking water to meet the needs of new projects and the growing population in the city, especially with the pilot operation of Al Haramain Express train, which will link the cities of Makkah and Madinah via Jeddah and Rabigh.

Ahmed Ibrahim Linjawy, KAEC Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer, said: "This is vital to KAEC's water security and is consistent with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 for sustainable conservation of natural resources, water and clean energy use. The plant will also establish greater confidence between investors and the city, which continues to implement major projects to develop its infrastructure in all its different sectors, and will attract more investors to invest and gain a footing in KAEC knowing their water needs for industrial and commercial use is sustainably secured.”

King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) is the largest privately-funded new city in the kingdom. It is situated on the west coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and covers an area of 181 square kilometers of land.



Boeing Reports $11.8 bln Loss, Largest since 2020

The Boeing logo is seen on the side of a Boeing 737 MAX at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 20, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo
The Boeing logo is seen on the side of a Boeing 737 MAX at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 20, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo
TT

Boeing Reports $11.8 bln Loss, Largest since 2020

The Boeing logo is seen on the side of a Boeing 737 MAX at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 20, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo
The Boeing logo is seen on the side of a Boeing 737 MAX at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 20, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo

28 (Reuters) - Boeing on Tuesday reported an annual loss of $11.83 billion, its largest since 2020, as it grappled with problems at its commercial and defense units and the fallout from a crippling strike by US West Coast factory workers.

The loss demonstrates the challenges facing CEO Kelly Ortberg in turning around the planemaker as it cedes more ground to rival Airbus in the delivery race and comes under the crosshairs of regulators and customers following a series of missteps.

Ortberg, who took the reins of the planemaker in August, however, said the company was making progress on restoring stability to its struggling production lines after a harrowing mid-air accident in 2024 raised concerns about the safety of its jets.

Boeing's fourth-quarter results included "disappointing" charges in several fixed-price defense programs, Ortberg said, while adding that the company was "now more proactive and clear-eyed on the risks" to the programs, Reuters reported.

The company's Defense, Space & Security business has lost $3.15 billion in the first nine months of 2024.

The planemaker last week flagged an overall fourth-quarter loss of about $4 billion, nearly triple the size expected by Wall Street.

Ortberg reiterated the company's four-part plan to turn the business around including undertaking a "multi-year journey" to fix Boeing's culture, "perhaps the most important change we need to make."

After banking record-high profits in the 2010s, Boeing has bled more than $20 billion since 2019 after two fatal crashes of its best-selling 737 MAX jet triggered production quality and safety concerns and worries that it had misled regulators during the plane's certification process.

The COVID-19 pandemic further squeezed the company, while the mid-air panel blowout on a nearly new 737 MAX in early 2024 dragged Boeing into another crisis.

"We have completed deep dives on all of our challenging fixed-price development programs," Ortberg said on Tuesday in a letter to employees.

Ortberg added Boeing has made progress with its supply chain and has returned to an output rate of five 787 jets per month at the end of 2024, despite delays in areas like seats.

Boeing's commercial planes division, now focused on getting three of its models certified, has a good handle on fixing a thrust link issue uncovered on its 777X widebody, which resumed flight tests earlier this month, he added.

Ortberg was guarded in his message about the status of solving problems with anti-icing systems on the 737-7 and -10 models. The company is "still working through the testing phase focusing on finalization of the anti-icing design solution," he said.

The company continues to invest in "core businesses while streamlining our portfolio in areas that are not core to our future," he said.