Saudi Arabia Spending Nearly $830 Million in Water Upgrades Ahead of Heavy Tourist Season
(UC) — In anticipation of a large tourist season this year, Saudi Arabia is spending $825 million to upgrade its water infrastructure in the city of Mecca along with other holy sites.
In the Muslim faith, Hajj is a holy pilgrimage taken to pay homage to some of the religion’s holiest locations in the world including the city of Mecca, the faith’s holiest site.
The Saudi government is expecting to receive nearly two million pilgrims this year and the country usually pulls in around $12 billion a year from Hajj tourism according to MEP Middle East.
In preparation for season, the kingdom is launching multiple water infrastructure improvement projects to the tune of almost $830 million.
The first major project is a $233 million pipeline to transport desalinated water from Al-Shuaibah, its massive desalination plant, to Mecca and other holy sites across the county.
In addition to the pipeline, the government is improving water networks, connections to homes, strategic reservoirs and sanitary drainage networks and connections.
Meanwhile, a second phase of the Al-Shuaibah plant, with a capacity of 250,000 cubic meters (8.8 million cubic feet) per day, has also been undertaken.
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