As Saudi Arabia reshapes its industrial landscape, water, waste and decarbonization are emerging as key pillars of sustainable growth.
French environmental services group Veolia is positioning itself within that shift, signing three memorandums of understanding with ACWA Power, Ma’aden and Khazeen to broaden cooperation in water management, waste treatment and decarbonization.
Connecting water, waste and energy
Through its agreement with ACWA Power, Veolia seeks to make desalination more efficient by using energy-saving measures, optimized chemical use and state-of-the-art digital technologies to promote plant performance.
Across ACWA’s 9.7 million cubic meters of daily desalination capacity, the upgrades could save up to 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year while bringing down operating costs.
With Ma’aden, the partnership will focus on maximizing resource efficiency through improved water treatment and reuse, waste reduction and material recovery from industrial residuals.
Meanwhile, the collaboration with Khazeen will explore a series of environmental solutions, from industrial water treatment and hazardous-waste technologies to integrated services connecting water, energy and waste management.
A long-term Saudi strategy
The latest agreements build on Veolia’s growing industrial footprint in Saudi Arabia, with investments ranging from the Tahwil hazardous-waste treatment facility in Jubail Industrial City to a new wastewater treatment project for Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company, the Aramco-TotalEnergies joint venture.
“Veolia’s ambition in Saudi Arabia is to continue to establish itself, over the long term, as a strategic and sustainable partner to the Kingdom in its industrial and environmental transformation, driven by Vision 2030,” said Philippe Bourdeaux, the company’s executive senior vice president for Africa and the Middle East.
Over the past decade, Saudi Arabia’s needs have evolved from basic utility provision toward more integrated and technology-driven approaches to water and waste management, Bourdeaux said.
How can growth become more sustainable?
In addition to its larger industrial projects, Veolia is bringing more flexible technologies to the market, including mobile water-treatment units for temporary needs and digital tools that help monitor facilities while optimizing water and energy use.
With a remarkable presence in Saudi Arabia since 1975, Veolia also seeks to expand its Saudi workforce across technical, operational and managerial roles through training and career development.
In this sense, the agreements support Saudi Vision 2030’s broader push to diversify the economy, preserve natural resources and advance a circular economy as Saudi Arabia’s industrial base expands and resource demand grows.
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