International Water Partners (IWP) signed the Operating and Maintenance Mangement Contract (MOMC) of North-West Cluster with National Water Company (NWC)

• Saudi Arabia’s first water infrastructure privatization contract has been awarded to International Water Partners (IWP) a JV of SAUR-MIAHONA-MANILA WATER.
• It covers the North West region of the country, which includes the cities of Medina and Tabuk regions.
• All the world’s market leaders competed head-to-head for a share in the most ambitious water infrastructure privatization program in the world today
• This 7-year contract is a key success for International Water Partners (IW), because it has the potential to lead on to a 25-year service concession contract

Riyadh, December 3, 2020 – A consortium of companies led by the Saur Group has been awarded the first contract of the water infrastructure privatization program launched by Saudi Arabia; the largest program of its kind in the world today. The consortium of Saur Group, Miahona (Saudi Arabia) and Manila Water Company (Philippines) has been awarded the 7-year management contract for the North West Cluster, which includes the cities of Medina and Tabuk, and has the potential to lead on to a 25-year service concession contract.

The contract was signed in Riyadh at a ceremony attended by His Excellency Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen A. AlFadley, Minister for the Environment, Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ludovic Pouille, the French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and Emmanuel Vivant, Senior Executive Vice-President International, Saur Group.

This is the first contract to be awarded by the National Water Company (NWC), the government agency responsible for this flagship program, and part of the Saudi Arabian Environment, Water and Agriculture Ministry. It forms an integral part of the Vision 2030 program to modernize the country’s infrastructure and open its economy to foreign investors.

This ambitious contract, the initial purpose of which is to prepare the ground for a future service concession contract, will involve 80 managers and water management experts in providing leadership for 500 National Water Company employees and 4,500 subcontractors. The infrastructure covered by the contract includes 15,000 km of water pipeline networks, 50 drinking water production plants, 10 wastewater treatment plants and 622 boreholes.

The contract covers the provision of an essential service to 3.5 million people living in an area of 280,000 km2 (approximately the size of Italy), which includes the holy sites of Medina and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of AlUla, around which the major NEOM and Red Sea projects are also in the process of development.

In the contract bidding process, the Saur-led consortium found itself competing head-to-head with 6 other consortia that included all the world’s leading water companies. The award of this contract highlights the technological leadership of Saur as a pure water player, and confirms its status as the global leader in French water industry expertise.

This success also progresses Saur’s international ambitions, particularly in the Middle East. International business growth is one the 4 cornerstones of the Saur Group strategic roadmap. The signature of this NWC contract also evidences the Group’s ability to achieve its 2024 revenue target of €2 billion, 50% of it generated outside France.