Who will step up to buy the world's biggest desal plant?

摘要

Water investors are set to get their first chance to feel out the value of Saudi Arabia's massive state-owned desalination portfolio, after the country solicited interest from potential buyers for the Ras Al-Khair power and water complex. At the end of last month, the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) - the owner and operator of state desal facilities in the Kingdom - issued a request for expressions of interest in the 1,025,000m~3/d & 2,400MW hybrid facility, which features the largest desalination plant in the world, by some measures. Sources at SWCC have indicated that they will be looking to privatise the plant -which first went into operation in 2014 - by securing investors and then drawing up an offtake contract with the new owners. This would see the plant become an independent water and power project, in the same mould as the wave of greenfield projects that are currently the norm in Saudi Arabia. The level of interest, and the price paid, will give a key insight into the value placed by the private sector on the dozens of large desalination projects in the SWCC portfolio. While there has been a surge of investment opportunities in greenfield infrastructure in the Gulf in recent years, there have been relatively few opportunities to invest in operational assets. Most deals completed have involved existing investors expanding their holdings: where new investors have come in, they have tended to be infrastructure funds (see table, facing page).