Report Description

Saudi Arabia Water Treatment Chemicals market was valued at USD 919.28 million in 2022 and is anticipated to project robust growth during the forecast period, registering a CAGR of 4.48%, owing to rapidly increasing population and scarcity of clean and safe water in Saudi Arabia.

Water Treatment is a complex process that involves a variety of chemicals to alter the pH of the water and avoid the release of pollutants, such as heavy metals, semi-volatile organic compounds and pesticides into the neighboring environment. Chemical treatment of wastewater is used by industries, such as energy production, pharmaceutical, and paper production.

With the growing urbanization and economic development, the existing water supply is unlikely to satisfy the ever-growing demands of water. Hence, the chemical industry uses advanced ways of water treatment in order to make water suitable for end-use, such as drinking, cooking, irrigation and industrial purpose to name a few. The water treatment techniques use four basic processes that include boiler water treatment, cooling water treatment, water purification and treatment of wastewater effluent.

Increasing Demand of Water for Daily Use Purpose is Driving Market Growth
Saudi Arabia is the one of the most populated countries in Middle Eastern region. In 2023, Saudi Arabia’s Population has reached to approximately 36.2 million, and due to the geography of the region, the country is facing scarcity of clean and safe water for daily use purposes to cater to the demand of people. Eastern region of the country is the home of industrial industries in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, water treatment is required in majorly all industries. The Government of Saudi Arabia has initiated to establish many water treatment and desalination plants in the country to accomplish the growing demand from people and driving water treatment chemical demand.

Rising Demand from Growing Industries
The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIMR) in its yearly bulletin has stated that in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, total number of 501 industrial licenses has been issued to different companies since the beginning of the year 2022. Total number of factories that started its operations in Saudi Arabia is approximately more than 300 in a year whereas the total investments carried out in the industrial sector of the country reached around USD 5.2 Billion in 2022. Water treatment processes are used to improve most water-based industrial processes, such as processing, cleaning, heating, cooling, and rinsing so that operating costs and risks are reduced. Therefore, with increase in industrial sector of the country, demand for chemicals used in water treatment processes will also increase proportionally. 

Extreme Climatic Conditions Driving Market Growth
Approximately 90% of the area of Saudi Arabia is still a desert which causes a lot of problem as the land is not suitable for agricultural activities. Saudi Arabia’s lack of water sources is a major cause of their problems for the locals, as for them only ground water is the source of their daily use water. Saudi Arabia lacks stable and renewable surface water resources such as rivers and lakes because they are in the arid belt of the earth. The high temperatures, sandstorms, and very low surface rainfall causes very high evaporation rates. These factors increase the severity of arid climate, enhance erosion, and accelerate desertification of the region. Hence water treatment processes are very much needed in the country which will drive the market for water treatment chemicals. 

Recent Developments

  • In February 2023, The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology finished its mobile plant project for wastewater treatment. The technology is the first of its kind in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as it treats wastewater and converts it effectively into reusable water for areas that are not linked to the central sewage network.
  • In December 2022, General Authority of Statistics of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced that the country has established 133 new wastewater treatment plants in 2021, which helped around 419 million cubic meters of treated water was reused in 2021.
  • In November 2022, Saudi Water Partnership Company has issued a request for proposals for the Al-Haer Independent Sewage treatment plant project, located in Riyadh. The capacity of the plant would be around 200,000 cubic meters per day and in expected to start its operations by 2026.
  • In January 2022, Shuqaiq 3 desalination plant was inaugurated in Saudi Arabia, the plant has a rated production capacity of 450,000 cubic meters per day which is located in Jizan province
  • In January 2021, Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company (NWC) and a French utility company signed a USD 5.36 million two-year contract to decrease the water lost during the country’s water production process.