Saudi Arabia’s 600,000 m³/day Rabigh 4 reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant is now online and at full capacity, Acwa announced in its Q1 earnings report this week. The $675mn Independent Water Project (IWP) was developed by a consortium of Acwa (45%), Haji Ali Reza (HAACO: 35%) and Al Moayyed (20%), with a 25-year offtake agreement.
The new plant will receive power from the grid, unlike less efficient multi-stage flash (MSF) plants that are integrated into oil and gas fired power plants. The plant does have a small solar PV component, with 6.8MWp capacity, but this is much smaller than the 600,000 m³/day Shuaibah-3 RO’s 60MW solar plant that was brought online last year (MEES, 10 June 2025). (CONTINUED - 149 WORDS)