“Environment” Workshop on Water Display up to 2050 Plan to Secure Increasing Demand

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture organized a workshop on the future of water demand, in Riyadh region, as part of the work and plans of water supply and demand, in the Kingdom-wide, and according to the expected increase, in the population of the capital, in the years to come.

The workshop was attended by officials from the Water Agency and the Ministry’s partners in the water sector, the National Water Company and the Public Irrigation Corporation, in addition to officials from the Royal Commission for Riyadh City.

Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli, explained during the workshop that the ministry had prepared a long-term supply and demand plan for water, in the urban sector for all regions of the Kingdom, including the city of Riyadh, based on the current data for growth rates, reflected in project planning for the entire supply chain.

In a 48-month planning cycle, the minister pointed out that the plan will be updated, according to the future demand for water, in the city of Riyadh.

Stressing the need for coordination between the Ministry and the Authority to plan water needs, update targets and increase data reliability, provided that the plan is flexible enough to respond to periodic reviews from planners, with the importance of agreeing on the geographical and temporal distribution of population expansion and urban growth in the city of Riyadh, he explained, adding that will be reflected on supply and demand plans on the water in the future..

For his part, the Undersecretary for Water, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Shaibani, stated that the Ministry and its partners in various water-related bodies are working to achieve the objectives of the national water strategy, by increasing the coverage of water and sanitation services in all regions of the Kingdom.

During the opening of the workshop, Dr. Al-Shaibani added that the ministry had prepared the water supply and demand plan, in the Kingdom until 2050.

In turn, the National Water Company presented a strategic plan for water and sanitation services, in Riyadh until 2050, too, in which it stated that it focused on the security of the water supply by securing more than one source for feeding (ground water – desalination) to raise readiness and business continuity.

The company noted that the city of Riyadh currently depends on 3 sewage plants south of the capital, with a capacity of about 1.5 million cubic meters per day, explaining that the future strategy aims to implementing 15 treatment plants around the city, to treat as much as 2.6 million cubic meters per day of wastewater, until 2050.