KING Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) has signed a contract with Metito Saudi Ltd (Metito) for the design and construction of a seawater desalination plant powered by solar energy and valued at SR220 million. The seawater treatment and desalination plant will start with the capacity to produce 30,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day, and expandable to 60,000 cubic meters per day. The development period of the project is 24 months, with a plan to start production in the first quarter of the year 2020, according to a report by KAEC. The new plant will be the second desalination plant in KAEC with an objective to increase the production capacity of drinking water to meet the needs of new projects and the growing population in the city, especially with the pilot operation of Al Haramain Express train, which will link the cities of Makkah and Madinah via Jeddah and Rabigh. Ahmed Ibrahim Linjawy, KAEC Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer, said: "This is vital to KAECs water security and is consistent with the Kingdoms Vision 2030 for sustainable conservation of natural resources, water and clean energy use. The plant will also establish greater confidence between investors and the city, which continues to implement major projects to develop its infrastructure in all its different sectors, and will attract more investors to invest and gain a footing in KAEC knowing their water needs for industrial and commercial use is sustainably secured.” King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) is the largest privately-funded new city in the kingdom. It is situated on the west coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and covers an area of 181 square kilometers of land.