Saudi Arabia Inaugurates Floating Desalination Plant

The floating desalination water plant self-generates electricity based on advanced technologies to filter and treat seawater (SPA)
The floating desalination water plant self-generates electricity based on advanced technologies to filter and treat seawater (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Inaugurates Floating Desalination Plant

The floating desalination water plant self-generates electricity based on advanced technologies to filter and treat seawater (SPA)
The floating desalination water plant self-generates electricity based on advanced technologies to filter and treat seawater (SPA)

Saudi Arabia inaugurated the first floating desalination plant near al-Shuqaiq port on the western coast, as part of its water projects to enhance water security in all the Kingdom's regions.

Governor of Jazan Prince Mohammad bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz inaugurated the station in the presence of Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdul Rahman al-Fadhli, Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) governor Abdullah al-Abdulkarim.

The plant is an integrated project to generate electricity and supply the grid in the southern cities with energy.

The project is part of the privatization program, where the private sector will do the design, construction, and operation for 25 years.

The station is operating according to reverse osmosis, the leading technology for desalination of brackish water and seawater, and is equipped with a massive farm of solar panels to reduce oil dependency.

Bahri signed an agreement with SWCC to transport desalinated water from three floating stations to desalination tanks in Saudi Arabia for 20 years.

The barges would be transported according to the needs of each region across the Kingdom, ensuring consistently high availability levels and compliance with all applicable international and local codes and standards.

Once operational, each station will have a capacity of 50,000 cu m per day with a total capacity of 150,000 cu m a day.

The project will support the construction of floating water desalination plants to produce clean and safe water daily independently and reliably that supports and preserves marine life.

It will also support the promotion of innovation, the localization of the latest technologies, the empowerment of local content, and the provision of job opportunities for young people.

The project promotes the capabilities of the industrial sector in the country, maximizing its contribution to the total added value and making it more active and competitive.

SWCC seeks to boost its contribution by making a qualitative shift in the local content, encouraging national industries, and maximizing the business sector's contribution to economic development.

Abdulkarim said that SWCC receives unlimited support from the government to advance the most important factors of sustainable development and provide desalinated water.

He indicated that this achievement is within the National Water Strategy and aims to secure water resources under constant follow-up by the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture.

The governor stressed that the adopted high-efficiency technologies and increased production capacity would advance growth in the national economy.

For his part, the CEO of Bahri Abdullah al-Dubaikhi stated that this step is a significant achievement in terms of efforts towards business diversification in line with the long-term strategy that supports Vision 2030 to enhance national capabilities.

Dubaikhi stressed that the partnership with SWCC is a qualitative leap in this field at the regional level, noting that the expertise of Bahri will contribute to supporting the project and its implementation following the best international standards.



Trump to Visit Saudi Arabia as Major Announcements Expected

Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince attend a business lunch in Washington in 2018 (AFP)
Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince attend a business lunch in Washington in 2018 (AFP)
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Trump to Visit Saudi Arabia as Major Announcements Expected

Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince attend a business lunch in Washington in 2018 (AFP)
Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince attend a business lunch in Washington in 2018 (AFP)

US President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive in Riyadh next Tuesday on his first official foreign trip since beginning his second term in office. The visit comes on the heels of an unplanned stop in Rome, where he attended the funeral of Pope Francis.

Saudi Arabia is once again Trump’s first international destination - mirroring his 2017 visit, which he described at the time as “highly successful.” This year, his Gulf tour will also include stops in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, running from May 13 to 16.

Since Trump’s first visit eight years ago - just a year after the launch of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 - the Kingdom has made significant strides toward economic transformation. The upcoming trip is expected to offer a real-time snapshot of that progress and serve as a tangible endorsement of the reforms set in motion by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump is expected to witness a vastly changed Saudi Arabia, with developments that reflect the ambitions of its long-term strategic agenda.

High-Level Deals

In the days leading up to Trump’s visit, expectations are mounting over a series of high-profile announcements. Speaking after his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday, Trump hinted at “major developments” to be revealed during his Gulf tour.

Among the expected announcements is a preliminary agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, which US Energy Secretary Chris Wright discussed during his visit to Saudi Arabia last month. Wright said both sides were close to finalizing an agreement focused on civil nuclear energy and technological collaboration.

Deepening Strategic and Economic Ties

Trump’s return to Riyadh underscores the Kingdom’s importance in US foreign policy and economic strategy. The visit also aligns with the administration’s push to encourage foreign investment in the United States while expanding bilateral cooperation with key regional allies.

The trip is expected to attract a wave of influential American business leaders to the Saudi capital. Executives from Wall Street and Silicon Valley, including BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Palantir CEO Alex Karp, will attend the Saudi-US Investment Forum, scheduled to coincide with Trump’s arrival.

Senior figures from CitiGroup, IBM, Qualcomm, Alphabet, and Franklin Templeton are also expected to participate. David Sacks, the White House’s top advisor on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, will also be present at the talks.

Coinciding with the upcoming summit, the Trump administration announced plans to roll back the “AI Export Restriction Rule” imposed under former President Joe Biden. The rule had placed strict controls on the export of advanced AI chips, even to allied nations.

A Longstanding Economic Partnership

Economic ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia remain robust, diversified, and steadily growing. In 2024, bilateral trade reached $32.3 billion, up from $22.9 billion in 2020. According to the Federation of Saudi Chambers, the US ranks as the Kingdom’s second-largest supplier and sixth-largest export destination.

Data from the US Census Bureau show that total US-Saudi goods trade in 2024 stood at $25.9 billion, with American exports valued at $13.2 billion and imports from the Kingdom at $12.7 billion. This left the US with a trade surplus of $443.3 million.

Saudi Arabia’s exports to the US include crude oil, fertilizers, organic chemicals, and metal products. Meanwhile, American exports to the Kingdom span pharmaceuticals, chemicals, grains, plastics, and high-tech equipment, including aerospace and medical devices.

According to a 2023 McKinsey report, transportation equipment led Saudi imports from the US at $5.9 billion, followed by medical instruments at $1.4 billion and pharmaceuticals at $1.3 billion. On the other side, energy products topped Saudi exports to the US at $14 billion, followed by chemicals and metals.

Bilateral Investment on the Rise

The investment relationship between the two nations is equally strong. As of the end of 2023, US foreign direct investment in Saudi Arabia totaled $57.7 billion, accounting for 23% of the Kingdom’s total FDI, according to the Saudi Ministry of Investment. These investments span critical sectors such as energy, infrastructure, real estate, and technology.

Saudi Arabia also holds substantial assets in the US, including approximately $127 billion in Treasury bonds as of February 2025. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) continues to pursue major stakes in key US companies, including Lucid Motors, Uber, Arm, PayPal, and Amazon. The PIF has also expanded into the gaming and tech sectors through investments in Scopely, Magic Leap, and Savvy Games Group.

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan has previously stated that the Kingdom’s total investments in the US exceed $770 billion.