Dow Chemical has awarded US engineering firm Fluor Corporation an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for its Reverse Osmosis (RO) manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia
Located at the Sadara Chemical Company complex in Jubail Industrial City II, the facility will locally manufacture high-tech RO elements to purify water for drinking and industrial uses.
This is Dow Chemical?s first-of-its-kind facility that will be built outside the US with expected date of completion by the end of 2015. The facility will manufacture a range of Dow RO products, including Dow FILMTECTM brackish water RO elements and seawater RO elements.
The facility will supply the local market as well as the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region and markets with similar critical water needs, including Eastern Europe, India, China and South East Asia, the US company said.
Currently, Saudi Arabia faces tremendous water scarcity and as a result, represents the largest seawater desalination markets in the world. According to the company, the new Dow RO facility will not only bring local supply security of next generation technologies for water desalination but also a more cost-effective water treatment solution as desalination via RO has proven to be less energy-intensive compared to traditional thermal methods.
Snehal Desai, global business director, Dow Water & Process Solutions, said, ?This state-of-the-art facility will bring enhanced capabilities and capacity to Dow?s RO business in Saudi Arabia and perfectly aligns to the kingdom?s drive to offer increasingly diverse employment opportunities for Saudi Arabian nationals.?
