A FUTURE FULL OF DESALINATED WATER VITAL INFRASTRUCTURE What’s another determining factor in this change? Infrastructure: multiple projects with public-private backing, many of which are already underway. High-speed rail, land, air and maritime trans-port, a massive push for renewable energy... and water, on land where availability is about 736 cubic meters per year compared to a global average of 7,453, according to Aquastat. The planned infrastructure will supply enough water to serve a growing pop-ulation, urban services —with 90% desalinated water—, green oases, and alternative economic activities. How? Through complete management of the water cycle from A to Z: from the source, desalinated seawater, to smart distri-bution of every last drop to treatment at the end of the cycle. Digitalized water technology —where ACCIONA leads the way, as attested by multiple management, desalination, and treatment awards— is being harnessed to do justice to the reverence that desert people have for water. “The company that guarantees capability, innovation, on-time completion and price when taking on these infrastructure pro-jects enters into a technological partnership with Saudi Vision as soon as the contract is signed,” explains Julio de la Rosa, Head of Business Development for ACCIONA’s Water business in the coun-try. NEW CONTRACTS For example, the company that has already delivered three large-scale desalination plants, is building another three and has signed, in practically a single stroke, tender contracts for con-struction and operation over a 25-year period of three wastewater treatment plants, as well as management of the entire water cycle for more than five million inhabitants in the Southern Cluster region, which is half the size of Spain. Not only does the latter contract reduce the water footprint by minimizing losses or through exhaustive control of optimized consumption, it also increases reuse of treated wastewater and revalues a resource viewed as an investment because it will be used for industrial and urban purposes as well as to water crops and green spaces. Specifically, reused water from ACCIONA’s three new wastewater treatment plants will supply the national irrigation organization and provide water the 10 billion trees to be planted by 2030 under a state plan. To remain within easy reach of its sites, partners and clients, the company has opened a perma-nent office in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. “We don’t just manage availability of the resource, but the pressure on its use and supply,” explains Julio de la Rosa. “We achieve this with technologies like reverse osmosis, automa-tion, artificial intelligence and sensory artificial intelligence that increase operational efficiency and lower energy consumption and emissions. They have led to a major breakthrough, as we can industrialize plants and achieve a leap forward in their delivery capacity, allowing us to reach many more places and ever more millions of people, as well as nearby industries.” ACCIONA’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NEW SAUDI ARABIA • Saudi Arabia is one of the driest countries in the world, with annual precipitation of just 59 mm (in 2017, according to the World Bank). The average in Spain was 636 mm. • In just four years, it has gone from treating 17% of its wastewater to 30%, and it plans to reach 90% by 2030. • With 33.4 million inhabitants, it has the third-highest per capita water consumption in the world. By the end of the decade, it intends to reduce its consumption by 43%. • Seawater desalination is absolutely critical for the region. In 2040, total desalinated water production in the Middle East will be 13 times higher than in 2014.