Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi National Water Company (NWC) has awarded a contract to UK-based Atkins as part of an alliance to provide advisory services for a mega water project in Saudi Arabia.
Atkins will advise NWC on the competitive procurement process for operators’ design, procurement strategy design, and the model of water sector distribution.
This project is part of NWC’s expansion plans through which it aims to privatise the water sector and raise the sector’s efficiency in the country.
“With significant infrastructure development and forecast growth in cities, towns and communities, the distribution of water and guarantee of supply is critical,” commented market director for SNC-Lavalin’s Atkins’ water business in the MENA Francois-Xavier Basselot.
With support from the consortium, NWC will enjoy an improvement in the coverage of its water and wastewater service network, Basselot added.
The project’s legal consultant is White & Case, while Mizuho Bank is the financial consultant, Atkins, which was acquired by SNC-Lavalin Group last year, added in its statement released Monday.
In February, NWC announced completing the first phase of efficiency upgrades to its old sewage networks in Jeddah by carrying out two projects in Al Baghdadia and Ghulail regions.
Mohammed Al-Zahrain, the manager of NWC’s Jeddah business unit, had noted that the projects were implemented in less than six months.
