In the signing hall of the Riyadh headquarters, a contract binds 9 old sewage plants on the barren land of northern Saudi Arabia and a water company in Jiangsu, China to the same ship. On September 1, 2026, Fuad Sheikh Mubarak, CEO of Saudi Arabian National Water Company, Jaman Jarman, Director of Armada Company, and Liu Meng, CEO of Jiangsu United Water, officially signed the contract for the restoration and operation of nine sewage treatment plants in the northern region for the next 15 years. The total contract price exceeds 1.3 billion Saudi riyals, approximately 348 million US dollars, and the processing service fee is 0.69 riyals per cubic meter.

Nine Factory Packaging and Custody

These assets are scattered Unaizah、Al-Bukairiyah、Al-Muznib、Al-Ras、Hail 1、Hail 2、Baqa'a、Sakaka And Turaif, spanning four provinces and eight cities including Hail, Qassim, Al Jouf, and Northern Borders, with a total design capacity of 337800 cubic meters per day. They are the 10th package of NWC's long-term operation and maintenance plan, and also the 8th existing sewage plant operation and maintenance contract awarded by NWC so far.

It is no longer a turnkey project in terms of mode. In the first three years, without stopping production for repair, upgrading processes, equipment, and pipeline networks, and replenishing sludge drying lines; The last 12 years, together with the first 3 years, are counted as 15 years of full cycle operation, and the effluent, sludge, and environmental performance are all in accordance with Saudi Arabia's national standards. How to collect money? Capacity income covers capital investment and fixed costs, output income corresponds to variable water costs, plus contingency income to cover unexpected expenses. Owners pay according to these three lines.

Private capital entering the water treatment field

Saudi Arabia's 2030 vision prioritizes water security, and the national water strategy explicitly aims to involve the private sector in the restoration and operation of existing assets. In the past, sewage treatment plants were mostly carried by state-owned enterprises themselves, with low efficiency and lax compliance; Now NWC is packaging old factories for long-term outsourcing, with a straightforward logic: using international operational capabilities to exchange for compliance rates, and using long-term contracts to exchange for asset lifespan.

For United Water, this account represents more than $348 million in revenue. According to the announcement, the expected total revenue for the 15 year operation period is 1.3056 billion riyals, approximately 2.366 billion yuan, which is 100% owned by the joint venture project company between United Water and Armada. United Water has nominated four out of seven directors. From one-time project gross profit to stable service fee cash flow every year, and then using Saudi Arabia as a springboard to look at South Asia and Southeast Asia, the muscle memory of Chinese owned water companies going global is being rewritten.

Factory 51 is located in the rear

After the 10th package is signed, the NWC plate continues to spread out. This year, we plan to bid for an additional 51 existing sewage treatment plants, with a total capacity of approximately 888000 cubic meters per day, doubling both the quantity and treatment capacity of the 9 plants in this project. If the LTOM framework is continued for subsequent packages, the Saudi stock water operation market will release billions of dollars in long-term orders.

The position of Chinese enterprises has also changed. In the early years, it was civil engineering subcontracting and equipment export. This time, it is the leading party, local partners, and full cycle operation responsibility. For the first time, a Chinese water company has taken the lead in winning a sovereign contract for water operation. Local cooperation is not just about accompanying bids. Armada controls resource interfaces and collaborates with water management to control process operations. This kind of binding path between China and Saudi Arabia is likely to become a standard gameplay for the bidding of 51 factories in the future.keywords:Engineering infrastructure

The old water plant machine in the desert has been running continuously for 15 years. For Saudi Arabia, it is the national account for turning sewage into recycled water; For Chinese enterprises, it is a transformation ticket to turn engineering teams into operators. When the next batch of 51 bidding documents are sent out, Riyadh is no longer just looking for people who can build factories, but those who dare to entrust them for 15 years.Editor/Yang Meiling