About Us

Water is a basic and a vital necessity of life. Due to scarcity, fresh drinking water has been used sparingly and often treated as a delicacy for centuries. Furthermore, water supplies are often short and sometimes impure. Water contamination from untreated water sources has dangerous health implications, and for a fast-developing country like Saudi Arabia, it is essential that all individuals, businesses and institutions have uninterrupted access to water fit for their needs. In Jeddah, a city with the rapidly growing population and very little rainfall, there is an increasing demand for water from all types of consumers: industrials, commercial and residential. Desalinated water proved to be the most reliable and convenient source of water to satisfy the ever-increasing need. Other sources, like surface water deep and well water do not provide the quantity needed for a large city like Jeddah (Population over 4 million).

SAWACO Water Desalination is the flagship of SBCG’s water sector. The company was established in the year 2000 responding to the shortage of water supply for residential and public consumers. It took little time for SAWACO becomingThe Kingdom’s first commercial private water production utility to operate under a license awarded by the Ministry of Water and Agriculture well before the IWPP and the PPP initiatives were launched. SAWACO is spearheading innovative initiatives in Saudi Arabia aiming at securing potable water in a sustainable manner.

SAWACO well-deserves its slogan of “The Water Designer” by customizing water for specific needs and requirements for hospitals, food and beverage industries, hotels and resorts, agriculture and villas, and residential and commercial complexes.SAWACO also provides BOO/BOT solutions in the water supply space for a wide range of clientele by utilizing state-of-the-art international process technologies and operational experience, with every stage of water production, ensuring high quality water conforming to international standards such as WHO, SASO, FDA, ISO, OHSAS & HACCP.By doing so, SAWACO ensures its clients the best quality of water for both the public and private sectors throughout the Middle-East and North Africa.Beyond all this, SAWACO is ISO9001-2000, ISO14001:2015, OHSAS 18001:2007 and HACCP certified.

SAWACO has an accomplished departmental structure with highly qualified and experienced management and technical staff, consisting ofproduction, quality control, fleet management, IT, HSE and sales/marketing departments. The company shipped the first batch of freshwater to customers in Jeddah on Dec. 23, 2001 at a time when private sector participation in water production and distribution was a rare phenomenon in Saudi Arabia.

Currently the company owns over 40,000 m³/day desalination capacity under 24 hours operation; in addition to, 20,000 m3/day capacity under development. SAWACO has a sizeable fleet of trucks fitted with stainless steel tankers Grade 316-L conforming to HACCP requirement. Tanks undergo clean-up on a 6-month basis which ensures that the water supplied to customers retains the highest quality. The main operating base of SAWACO is in North Obhur, Jeddah and the other operating bases are found in central and south Jeddah. SAWACO is branching outside Jeddah to areas like North Saudi Arabia to provide its business services.

SAWACO was particularly established to respond to acute water shortage of potable water in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia, but soon became a cornerstone in the supply of water in the other regions of the Kingdom.In this context the mission of SAWACO evolved from being a producer of desalinated potable water to become a potable water solution provider.

SAWACO has expanded into the guaranteed off-take market by winning the development of Rabigh 3 600,000 m3/day desalination plant North Jeddah in partnership with ACWA Power. SAWACO/SBCG owns 30% of Rabigh 3 concession.