With less than four years remaining until the National Water Strategy 2030 reaches its target horizon, the question is no longer whether private capital belongs in the Kingdom’s water sector. Rather, the question now is how deeply private participation will extend across the value chain, and how its privatisation programme will evolve to support investment at every stage of water delivery.
Scarcity to strategy
Saudi Arabia receives less than 120 millimetres of average annual rainfall, has no freshwater lakes or permanent rivers, and relies on desalination for approximately 70% of its potable urban water supply. According to the General Authority of Statistics (GASTAT), the Kingdom total water demand exceeded 15 billion m3 annually and continues to grow at an estimated 7% annually.
With urban water consumption per capita at over 250 litres per day (significantly above the global average) and network losses estimated at more than 25% across different regions, it is clear to see why the government treats the sector as a priority policy concern.
SHARAKAT is the essential bridge between the national strategy and international capital, tendering all PPP projects and providing the private sector with a structured, sovereign-backed entry point. Saudi Arabia’s updated National Privatisation Strategy aims to attract $64 billion in private sector investment by 2030 across 18 economic sectors. The water sector is among the leading contributors to achieving these objectives, with SHARAKAT successfully closing more than USD 15.4 billion in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects since its establishment, thereby supporting the Kingdom’s privatisation agenda and investment goals.
These achievements demonstrate the water sector’s position as one of the key contributors to the implementation of the privatisation programme and the attraction of long-term private investment into the Kingdom. The pipeline behind that ambition is already in motion.
As of 2026, 15 assets are operational. Six are under construction. Nine are in active tendering with Riyadh East ISTP the next project awaiting RFP submissions. Beyond that, more than 21 projects are confirmed across desalination, sewage treatment, transmission, and storage through to 2033.
The full water value chain
For decades, Saudi Arabia focused on building capacity: more desalination plants, more storage, more pipelines. As the largest producer of desalinated water, it accounts for approximately 22% of global desalinated supply. Today, however, it is shifting its focus from asset delivery to system performance. What matters more now is not how much water is produced but how well each cubic metre is managed as it moves through the network.
Two efficiency challenges illustrate where the next phase of private sector opportunity sits –both sit within SHARAKAT’s mandate. Unaccounted-for water losses, estimated at more than 25% across different regions, represent both a governance challenge and a commercial opportunity. To tackle this requires system integration and performance monitoring, the kind of operational discipline the PPP model is designed to deliver.
The second is the ongoing transition from energy-intensive thermal desalination technologies: Multi-Stage Flash (MSF) and Multi-Effect Distillation (MED) to Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO), which reduces the cost of desalination structurally. SHARAKAT’s portfolio already reflects this shift. Shuaibah 3 IWP – the first conversion from MSF to SWRO technology in the Kingdom – delivered a significant reduction of that energy targets of that asset, reducing carbon emissions by approximately 9.7 million tonnes annually.
Privatisation within the National Water Strategy 2030
The Saudi National Water Strategy’s programme spans the full breadth of the sector’s objectives. For private sector participants, two areas are defining the next phase of opportunity and together signal that privatisation is no longer limited to desalination and treatment alone.
- Development and operation of water infrastructure assets
SHARAKAT is responsible for developing and procuring water production, transmission, and storage projects up to the point where water enters the distribution network, while the National Water Company (NWC) manages and operates the distribution networks and delivers water to end users in the final stage of the water value chain.
In recent years, SHARAKAT has also expanded its role to include the procurement of wastewater collection and treatment projects, further strengthening private sector participation in the development and operation of water infrastructure assets. This integrated approach supports the deployment of advanced engineering solutions, improves investment efficiency, and enhances the long-term sustainability of water services.
Looking ahead, significant opportunities remain to leverage innovative technologies and expand private sector involvement to reduce water losses, improve the efficiency of water and wastewater networks, and enhance the overall operational performance of the Kingdom’s water sector. - Innovation and capability building
This programme promotes research, development and innovative solutions across a multi-asset privatisation drive over the long term. It includes measures and incentives designed to encourage the private sector to adopt available technology solutions in line with the national strategy targets, ensuring that privatisation transfers performance, not just ownership.
Together, these programmes signal a strategy that has moved well beyond asset delivery.
The broader investment signal
The threshold for a privatisation programme to be considered a mature asset class is not set at the financial close alone. It is set at a point where independent capital, one that has no obligation to enter, begins to move towards the market of its own accord. Saudi Arabia has crossed that threshold.
According to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), Saudi Arabia’s FDI inflows rose 24% in 2024 to $31.7bn – exceeding the National Investment Strategy’s annual target for the fourth consecutive year, even as global FDI slowed. It also suggested that Saudi Arabia’s broader economy is projected to expand to around 4% across 2025-2026, driven by structural non-oil activity and major infrastructure programmes.
While these figures are not water-sector specific, they reflect the institutional confidence that underpins long-term capital allocation decisions and developers committing to 25 and 35-year concessions should read that signal carefully.
Developers can register interest through SHARAKAT’s pre-qualification programme. For project announcements, procurement timelines, and tender updates, visit www.sharakat.com.sa and follow SHARAKAT’s official media channels.
