LAS PALMAS: The head of the Kingdom’s Saline Water Conversion Corp. said he expects the transfer of SWCC’s assets to the PIF-owned Water Solutions Co. to take up to three years. The Saudi cabinet has announced yesterday that it will stop the privatization of SWCC and move all its assets to WSC. In an exclusive interview with Arab News, the governor of SWCC Abdullah Al Abdulkarim said: “We are planning to do it within 18 to 20 months, but it might take three years.” SWCC is the largest desalination company in the world. He added that the decision of the Saudi cabinet will help SWCC enhance its services within the Kingdom, while WSC will become a global leader in the sector.About a possible IPO in the future, he said: “SWCC will not turn to IPO. We will move the assets to Water Solutions Co., and it can seek an IPO. SWCC will remain a government agency. We will revisit the bylaw first and find the right mandate for SWCC in the future.” He continued, “For SWCC, we should hold a study that will take six months with different government entities to know what’s the best mandate should be assigned to SWCC. We have to capitalize on SWCC as a government entity capable to do more and more in the water sector.” Talking about the progress of SWCC in the last four years, he said: “SWCC in the last four years has made very good progress in terms of enhancing the technology, adopting new technologies, and building new plants which will increase the production capacity.” The governor added: “Today we are producing 5.9 million cubic meter a day. And there, there are six plants under construction where it’s at the capacity of 3 million cubic meter.” SWCC aims to decommission more thermal plants to embrace RO technology, which is more environmentally friendly and cost-efficient, he said. The official also added that he is currently the deputy chairman and managing director of Water Solutions Co. The company seems to be looking for a new candidate for the post of CEO, Arab News learned. Earlier this year, Al Abdulkarim revealed the firm is close to reducing its carbon emissions by 60 percent.