The Shuaiba 3 Conversion Independent Water Project has achieved a new milestone by winning the Saudi Arabia Water Project of the Year and the MENA Water Project of the Year at the MEED Projects Awards 2025, one of the region’s leading awards programs recognizing excellence in major infrastructure, energy, water and engineering projects. This achievement reflects the project’s distinction in engineering innovation, environmental sustainability, operational efficiency, and its positive economic and societal impact.
The success of the Shuaiba 3 project highlights Saudi Water Partnership Company role as a facilitator and enabler between the public and private sectors, having supported the development of this vital project in partnership with a consortium comprising ACWA Power, Haji Abdullah Alireza & Co, and Badeel, all in alignment with the highest international environmental and technical standards. The project was selected for the two awards for representing a transformative shift in the independent water production sector, with a production capacity of 600,000 cubic meters per day, alongside its achievement of reducing liquid fuel consumption by approximately 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and lowering carbon emissions by nearly 9.7 million tons annually. These results have positioned the project as a key contributor to strengthening the water supply system for the Makkah region and an important driver of operational and environmental sustainability.
It is worth noting that the project had previously been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the largest project in the world to fully convert a desalination plant from Multi-Stage Flash (MSF) technology to Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology. This global recognition highlights the scale and technical leadership of the project and reinforces the environmental and economic impact that contributed to its success in securing the new awards.
The MEED Projects Awards are among the most prominent regional awards celebrating outstanding projects across the Middle East and North Africa. Organized by MEED, one of the region’s longest-standing economic and project intelligence platforms, the awards serve as a key benchmark for project excellence and aim to highlight initiatives that support infrastructure development and drive economic growth across the region.
These awards reaffirm the pivotal role played by the Company and its partners in delivering strategic projects that enhance water source diversification, strengthen supply security, improve infrastructure efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and support higher levels of sustainability and reliability.
This accomplishment also reflects the Kingdom’s continued leadership in the global water sector and demonstrates its ability—through effective public-private partnerships—to develop world-class projects that support the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, advance national transformation in the water sector, and enhance the sustainability and quality of critical infrastructure.
