Desalination Plants
Full-cycle consultancy for reverse osmosis and thermal desalination — from feasibility and process design through owner's engineer and technical due diligence.
The opportunity.
Saudi Arabia operates the world's largest desalination infrastructure and continues to commission major new capacity to meet Vision 2030 water-security targets. The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), SWPC's PPP programme and independent water producers are together driving billions of riyals of new desalination investment.
WPEC provides independent, client-side consultancy across the full project lifecycle for both RO and thermal desalination facilities. Our specialists are fluent in SWPC framework requirements, international membrane technology standards and the full range of Owner's Engineer obligations — from bid-phase technical review through performance testing and handover.
Capabilities.
Feasibility & Concept Studies
- Technology selection (RO, MED, MSF, hybrid)
- Pre-feasibility and bankable concept reports
- Site selection and constraints analysis
- Water quality and feedwater characterisation
- Energy demand and tariff analysis
- CAPEX / OPEX modelling and sensitivity
Process Design & Engineering
- RO process design and membrane system sizing
- Energy recovery device (ERD) selection
- Intake and outfall hydraulic design
- Chemical dosing and pre-treatment systems
- Post-treatment and remineralisation design
- P&ID development and HAZOP facilitation
Owner's Engineer Services
- Independent review of EPC contractor designs
- Procurement review and bid evaluation
- Construction supervision and QA oversight
- Factory and site acceptance testing
- Performance test witnessing and certification
- Commissioning programme management
Technical Due Diligence
- Lender's technical advisor (LTA) services
- Independent technical review for investors
- Technology risk assessment
- Membrane system life assessment
- O&M cost benchmarking
- Capacity-expansion programme review
Our methodology.
Feedwater Assessment
Detailed characterisation of source water quality, seasonal variation, biological load and scaling potential to define pre-treatment requirements.
Technology Selection
Comparative evaluation of RO, thermal and hybrid technologies against water quality, energy cost, client preference and long-term capacity planning.
Process Engineering
Mass balance, energy audit, P&ID development and HAZOP facilitation to produce a robust process design basis for EPC tender.
Tender & Procurement
EPC tender documentation, technical clarifications, bid evaluation and contractor pre-qualification support.
Construction Oversight
Stage-gate inspections, hold-point witnessing, construction QA and progress reporting to client.
Performance Testing
Independent witnessing of performance tests, membrane integrity testing and handover certification to guarantee contracted output and quality.
Tools & software.
IMS Design
RO system sizing and performance simulation
ROSA / Wave
Membrane system design and fouling analysis
AutoCAD / HAD
P&ID development and instrument loop drawings
HAZOP Tools
Structured hazard identification and risk assessment
Primavera P6
Commissioning programme and milestone management
Revit / Navisworks
3D plant layout coordination and clash detection
Related services.
Have a project in mind?
Let's engineer it.
From feasibility to commissioning — our consultants partner with utilities, developers and government clients across the Kingdom.