The first of the 5,000 m³/d modular brackish-water desalination units being supplied to Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company (NWC) by Degrémont began producing water on 7 February 2013.
In October 2012, Degrémont won two equipment contracts to supply, install and commission 33 units at 14 sites around the Riyadh area. Each unit consists of two multimedia filter units for pretreatment, two reverse-osmosis units and a chemical treatment unit.
On 7 February 2013, drinking water started to be produced from the unit at the SR17 site, near to the Dharhat Laban district. The site, which produces water for 3,000 households that were formerly supplied by tanker trucks, was visited by Aabdallah Al Hussein, minister of water and electricity on 19 February.