[Saudi Arabia] 150,000 m³/day Independent Sewage Treatment Plant Enters Pre-Commissioning, 34 km Reclaimed Water Network Outlines a New Paradigm for Middle East Water Services

Key Highlights: Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) announced that the Buraydah 2 Independent Sewage Treatment Plant (ISTP) in the Qassim region has a designed treatment capacity of 150,000 m³/day and has now entered the pre-commissioning and commercial testing preparation stage. The project is being built and operated under a BOOT model by a consortium led by Spain's Acciona for 25年, with a supporting 34 km reclaimed water collection pipeline network for irrigation.

I. Project Overview: From "Building a Plant" to "Building a Network"

Buraydah 2 is located in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia, approximately 400 km from the capital Riyadh. According to SWPC, construction is progressing smoothly, and the project is currently being prepared for pre-commissioning and subsequent commercial testing.

Unlike traditional sewage treatment plant projects, the scope of Buraydah 2 extends beyond the plant itself. Under the contract, the consortium will also build a 34 km reclaimed water collection pipeline network at the project site for irrigation purposes, along with 3 storage tanks and corresponding pumping stations. This means the project deliverables constitute a complete chain from "wastewater treatment" to "reclaimed water delivery."

II. Winning Consortium and Business Model

• Lead party — Spanish infrastructure giant Acciona
• Saudi partners — Tawzea and Tamasuk
• Contract scope — financing, construction, and 25年 operation, adopting the BOOT/EPC model
• Project portfolio — the same consortium has also undertaken two large sewage treatment plants, Madinah-3 and Tabuk-2, marking Acciona's first BOOT/EPC contracts signed in the Middle East wastewater treatment sector

SWPC Chief Executive Officer Eng. Khalid bin Zuwaid Al Quraishi stated after a recent site inspection that work on Buraydah 2 is advancing at full speed, the project is being prepared for pre-commissioning and commercial testing, and upon completion it will use reclaimed water for irrigation.

III. Three Signals Worth Watching

First, reclaimed water pipeline networks are becoming a standard project component. The 34 km reclaimed water collection pipeline network indicates that water projects in the Middle East are front-loading "reuse" into the design phase — the sewage treatment plant is no longer the endpoint, but the starting point of a reclaimed water supply system. For reclaimed water, the pipeline network is the market; without transmission and distribution networks, treatment capacity can hardly be converted into actual utilization rates.

Second, the long-cycle BOOT model continues to dominate. An operation period of 25年 means investors must remain accountable for water quality stability and operating costs over the long term, which will compel projects to select process routes with higher reliability and better energy efficiency at the design stage.

Third, regional market competition is intensifying. As international contractors such as Acciona make the Middle East wastewater sector a strategic priority, combined with the rigid demand across multiple Middle Eastern countries for reclaimed water used in irrigation, landscaping, and industry, demand for equipment, processes, and smart operations in the region's water market will continue to be unleashed.

IV. Implications for Chinese Water Treatment Enterprises

• Looking outward — reclaimed water projects in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and other regions generally adopt long-cycle concession operations, with high requirements for equipment reliability and O&M service systems. Chinese enterprises with EPC+O capabilities have clear opportunities
• Looking inward — the "plant-network integration" delivery approach is worth emulating by domestic industrial parks. Only by incorporating reclaimed water transmission and distribution into unified planning can treatment capacity truly become a usable water source
• Looking closely — the use of reclaimed water for irrigation has specific requirements for salinity, pathogenic microorganisms, and other indicators. Advanced treatment and tiered water quality control capabilities are core competitiveness

When the value of a sewage treatment plant is no longer defined solely by "daily treatment capacity" but measured by "how much qualified reclaimed water it can deliver," the evaluation criteria for water projects are being rewritten.

About TIANYI TECH

Hong Kong TIANYI LIMITED focuses on industrial water treatment and water resource reuse. Centered on three core products — Industrial Wastewater Treatment AI Agent, Industrial Water Reuse Optimization System, and Industrial Water System Digital Twin — the company provides enterprises with full-chain services from water quality diagnosis and process optimization to intelligent operations, helping customers improve water reuse rates and reduce operating costs.

Contact us: +852 66162262 ｜ info@tianyitech.hk