Water in the Desert: The Arabian Peninsula’s Major Water Treatment Plants

Desert and oil. These two words sum up the most common image of the Arabian Peninsula, defined by its two most iconic elements: a desert spanning more than 2.2 million square kilometers, and black gold, which over the past two decades has accelerated the economic, urban, cultural, and social transformation of the region.

Yet, none of this development would be possible without water — essential not only for meeting the daily needs of citizens and businesses but also for driving the region’s grand projects and towering ambitions. That’s why, for years, both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have invested heavily in water infrastructure, adopting cutting-edge technologies to optimize their water resources management and secure new ones.

In one of the hottest and driest areas on the planet — where the average annual temperature hovers around 32°C and rainfall amounts to just 50 to 70 mm per year — effective water management is crucial first for survival, then for sustainable growth.

Recognizing the central role of water in its future development, Saudi Arabia — the largest and most populous state on the Peninsula — has been shaping its water management strategy for decades.

Today, the kingdom’s population has reached 34 million, with projections estimating a surge to 77 million by 2050. This dramatic growth makes investment in water and strategic water infrastructure all the more urgent. Leading this effort is the Saudi Water Authority, the governmental authority in Saudi Arabia responsible for regulating and monitoring the activities and services of the water sector to improve water sustainability throughout the kingdom.

Currently, the Saudi Water Authority operates 30 major desalination plants across Saudi Arabia, managing 4,000 kilometers of pipelines and employing 10,000 workers. These facilities produce over 3 billion cubic meters of potable water per day, meeting 70% of the cities’ water needs.

Water desalination — the process of turning seawater into potable water — has long been the cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s water strategy and continues to grow in importance.

To see the true power of engineering innovation, one need only look to one of the most ambitious projects of recent decades: the 2029 Asian Winter Games, to be hosted in Saudi Arabia.

The Winter Games will take place in Trojena, an Arabian mountain area where snow has not fallen in years and temperatures rarely drop below freezing. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia is advancing a monumental water infrastructure project: using desalination plants to treat seawater, storing it behind massive dams, and then pumping it up into the mountains — where it will be transformed into snow.

Italian infrastructure giant Webuild Group, active in Saudi Arabia for years, is involved in building the three Trojena dams, which will create a colossal 2.8-kilometer freshwater lake. This unprecedented project underscores the Arabian Peninsula’s determination to secure its water resources through innovation.

Even today, more than a decade after its inauguration, Dubai remains home to the most iconic symbol of the Arabian Peninsula’s desalination efforts: the Jebel Ali M desalination plant, completed in 2012 and capable of producing 636,400 cubic meters of water per day.

Its desalination units remain among the largest in the world, fed by water drawn from the Persian Gulf through vast intake pipelines. Seen from the beach, the plant stretches seemingly endlessly along the shore — but its greatest impact lies in its role in sustaining Dubai’s rapid growth.

Jebel Ali M ensures drinking water supplies for Dubai, now a global hub for business and tourism. The plant was built by Fisia Italimpianti, part of the Webuild Group, a world leader in water treatment and desalination, whose projects now serve over 20 million people worldwide.