Dammam, Saudi Arabia: Under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Governor of the Eastern Province, and in the presence of His Excellency Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Dammam Independent Sewage Treatment Plant (ISTP) was officially inaugurated.
Delivered by a consortium led by Metito Utilities alongside Mowah and Orascom Construction, the project represents a significant milestone in advancing Saudi Vision 2030’s National Water Strategy through an innovative Public–Private Partnership (PPP) framework.
Awarded by the Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC), the Dammam ISTP was developed with a total investment of SAR 690million (USD 185,260,000) under a 25-year Build–Own–Operate–Transfer (BOOT) model. The plant operates at an initial capacity of 200,000 m³/day, expandable to 350,000 m³/day, and serving nearly one million residents in western Dammam. As an ISTP implemented under this framework, the project introduces a performance-based PPP structure that mobilizes private sector capital, technology, and expertise to deliver strategic infrastructure designed to meet the Kingdom’s evolving water needs.
The plant incorporates Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) treatment technology, enabling high treatment efficiency with reduced civil works and tank volumes. Its sustainable design features anaerobic digestion to convert sludge into biogas for on-site utilization complemented by solar drying greenhouses that leverage Dammam’s abundant sunlight. Together, these innovations directly minimize emissions and operational costs.
The construction phase, which commenced in 2020 following the financial close, achieved over 6.9 million safe man-hours with zero LTIs, created hundreds of local jobs, and advanced sustainability by recovering resources and reducing landfill dependency. These achievements directly advance several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
About Metito Utilities
Impact. Sustainability. Innovation. Guided by these founding principles, Metito Utilities is a global investor, developer, and operator of sustainable water management solutions and climate-resilient water assets. The company has built over 25 years of expertise in public private partnerships (PPP), having successfully delivered over 35 transformative projects across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Rwanda, Serbia, and beyond.
Notable achievements include a leadership position in China’s wastewater sector (2008–2018), managing 1.8 million m³/day of treatment capacity, enhancing water network monitoring capabilities through its acquisition of Portugal-based DouroECI and scaling climate-resilient water infrastructure investments across Africa through its the Africa Water Infrastructure Development (AWID) platform, launched with British International Investment (BII).
Established in 1958, Metito has been a pioneer in delivering cutting-edge water solutions worldwide. With decades of excellence in engineering, operations, and innovation—and as the first to introduce reverse osmosis desalination technology beyond the USA in 1972—Metito has consistently delivered innovative water solutions worldwide.