Saudi Arabia has launched a new company, Water Transmission and Technologies Company (WTTCO), which is one outcome of the Privatization Program in the Kingdom’s water sector.
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WTTCO’s launch marks a major step by The Supervisory Committee for the Privatization of the Environment, Water, and Agriculture Sector towards restructuring the Kingdom’s water sector.
The company would handle the management and maintenance of water transmission, distribution, and storage systems that span over more than 8,400 km and transmit more than 7 million cu m per day of desalinated water across the country.
WTTCO – fully owned by the government – will help “maximize the use of assets and achieve greater spending efficiency, while also decreasing supply chain costs”.
Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Abdul Rahman bin Abdul-Mohsen Al Fadhli said the establishment of WTTCO is a historic step in enhancing the efficiency and organization of the water sector while contributing to a prosperous future for the kingdom’s economy.
The water sector will do so by attracting more than SAR60 billion (USD16 billion) in investment in water transmission and strategic storage systems, through the private sector’s participation in funding future projects, he stated.
Engineer Abdullah Bin Ibrahim Al Abdlkareem, chairman of WTTCO, reiterated that the establishment of the company contributes to the development of the water sector supply chain.
He also reaffirmed the importance of WTTCO’s role in managing, constructing, developing, and maintaining water transmission, storage and dispatch systems, while adding more than 3,000 km of new transmission lines.
WTTCO will ultimately help to enhance Saudi Arabia’s water security and contribute to social and economic growth, therefore creating new opportunities for sector progress alongside additional gains in efficiency and further cost reductions.
This will be achieved through various avenues, including partnerships with the private sector and the self-funding of projects, the top official said.