SAWACO - Water Desalination

What SAWACO - Water Desalination does

SAWACO Water Desalination, founded in 2002 and headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, produces and delivers potable water from seawater using Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalination technology. It owns and operates three seawater desalination plants — SOJECO on the Jeddah coast, CROP along Corniche Road in Al Shati District, and the North Obhur plant roughly 45 km from Jeddah — and serves enterprise B2B customers across hotels and resorts, hospitals and medical centers, residential compounds, commercial centers, industrial facilities, farms and zoos, and villa/resort properties. The company was the first in KSA to adopt Post-Tensioned reinforced concrete water storage tanks and positions itself as the pioneer and leading supplier of un-bottled potable water in the Kingdom.

The product portfolio spans the full utility value chain: core SWRO/BWRO desalination production, operation and maintenance (O&M) services for third-party RO plants, mobile BWRO/SWRO containerized rental units, water conveyance via trucks and pipeline networks operated by wholly-owned subsidiary SAWACO Water Transportation Co. (SWTC), BOT/BOO project delivery for water and wastewater treatment plants, equipment and material trading, in-house laboratory and quality control, and KSA-first Post-Tensioned reinforced concrete water storage. A WHO-compliant water standard underpins sensitive accounts including the Jeddah Formula 1 venue, where Dutch partner MTD selected SAWACO for facility water supply.

The business model is sales-led with direct enterprise engagement (dedicated mobile numbers and [email protected]), supplemented by customer and driver mobile applications and an e-services customer portal for self-service ordering and account management. Revenue streams combine recurring subscription-like water sales, professional-services O&M contracts, usage-based transportation and rental, managed-services BOT/BOO arrangements, and one-off equipment trading — diversified across multiple verticals but concentrated geographically in Jeddah and broader Saudi Arabia, with stated intent to serve the wider Middle East and North Africa region.

Name

SAWACO - Water Desalination

Legal name

SAWACO Water Desalination

Website

https://sawaco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SAWACO Water Desalination, founded in 2002 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, operates three seawater RO desalination plants plus a trucking subsidiary to produce and deliver WHO-compliant potable water to enterprise and mid-market B2B customers across hospitality, healthcare, residential, commercial, and industrial sectors in the Kingdom.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Desalination Services

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction (1623)

akta.pro primary industry

Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) Plants & Operations (EUANAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis (BWRO) Plants & Operations (EUANAFAB), Desalination Plant Construction (IMAFAGAG), Water & Wastewater Treatment Plant Equipment (Clarifiers, Aeration, Membrane Systems) (IMAHAEAJ)

Keywords

• Seawater desalination services
• Reverse osmosis water treatment
• Potable water supply
• RO plant operations maintenance
• Water transportation conveyance

Headquarters

HQ city

Jeddah

HQ country

Saudi Arabia

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Water Desalination Services: SAWACO operates and maintains its own and third-party desalination plants, producing potable water for commercial and residential customers in Saudi Arabia.
2. Operation & Maintenance of RO Plants: O&M services for reverse osmosis plants, both for SAWACO's own facilities and third-party RO plant owners and operators who request extended services.
3. Water Transportation: SAWACO Water Transportation Co. (SWTC) provides water conveyance services through trucks, trailers, and pipeline systems in the greater Jeddah region.
4. BWRO & SWRO Rental Units: Rental of containerized seawater and brackish water reverse osmosis units for temporary or mobile water treatment needs.
5. BOT/BOO of Water & Waste Water Treatment Plants: Build-Operate-Transfer and Build-Own-Operate arrangements for water and wastewater treatment facilities.
6. Equipment & Material Trading: Trading of water treatment equipment and materials.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

SAWACO operates seawater and brackish water desalination plants using Reverse Osmosis technology to produce and deliver WHO-compliant potable water to residential, commercial, hospitality, healthcare, industrial, and agricultural customers in Saudi Arabia. Beyond producing water from its own SOJECO, CROP, and North Obhur plants, the company provides O&M services for third-party RO plants, rents containerized BWRO/SWRO units, transports water via trucks and pipelines through subsidiary SWTC, and executes BOT/BOO water and wastewater treatment projects.

Product overview

SAWACO Water Desalination offers a comprehensive portfolio of water treatment and delivery services centered on Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalination technology. The core offering includes the operation of three seawater desalination plants (SAWACO North Obhur, SOJECO, and CROP) producing WHO-compliant potable water. Service offerings span the full value chain: desalination production, O&M services for third-party RO plants, water conveyance via pipeline and trucks, laboratory quality control, containerized BWRO/SWRO rental units, water/wastewater treatment plant BOT/BOO projects, equipment trading, and water storage solutions. Digital access is enabled through customer and driver mobile applications and an e-services customer portal. The company positions itself as the pioneer and leading supplier of un-bottled potable water in Saudi Arabia, serving diverse sectors including hotels, hospitals, residential compounds, commercial centers, and industrial facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Water Desalination (RO Plants) Operation and maintenance of seawater and brackish water desalination plants using Reverse Osmosis technology, producing potable water for residential, commercial, hospitality, healthcare, industrial, and agricultural users in Saudi Arabia.
• O&M of RO Plants Outsourced operation and maintenance services for Reverse Osmosis plants, provided to private RO plant owners and operators who request extended O&M support.
• Water Conveyance (Pipeline & Trucks) Water transportation services via trucks, trailers, and pipeline systems for water conveyance, provided exclusively in the greater Jeddah region through SAWACO Water Transportation Co. (SWTC).
• Lab / Quality Control In-house laboratory and quality control services to verify and maintain potable water quality standards for SAWACO's production operations.
• BWRO & SWRO Rental Container Units Rental of containerized Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis (BWRO) and Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) units for temporary, mobile, or remote water treatment needs.
• BOT / BOO of Water & Waste Water Treatment Plants Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) and Build-Own-Operate (BOO) project delivery models for water and wastewater treatment plants, allowing clients to outsource full infrastructure lifecycle.
• Trading Equipment / Material Sale of water treatment equipment and materials, supplementing SAWACO's water production and service portfolio.
• Water Storage Solutions Bulk water storage solutions leveraging Post-Tensioned reinforced concrete water tanks, an innovative storage technology adopted for the first time in Saudi Arabia by SAWACO.
• SOJECO Plant Sea-water desalination plant located along the Jeddah coast, part of SAWACO's owned production infrastructure.
• CROP Plant Sea-water desalination plant located along Corniche Road in Al Shati District, Jeddah, part of SAWACO's owned production infrastructure.
• SAWACO Plant (North Obhur) Sea-water desalination plant strategically located in North Obhur, about 45 km from Jeddah, part of SAWACO's owned production infrastructure.

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MTD (Dutch Company)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerMTD, a Dutch company, selected SAWACO to provide WHO-compliant potable water for their installed facilities within the Jeddah Formula 1 venue. This partnership demonstrates SAWACO's capability to deliver high-quality water services for major international events and facilities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fisia Italimpianti (Sidem, Veolia): Italy-based desalination EPC contractor (part of Veolia) focused on large seawater and brackish water RO plants. Comparable as a specialist RO desalination EPC player competing for similar municipal and industrial desalination contracts in the Middle East.
• Metito: UAE-headquartered water-treatment EPC and operations specialist serving MENA, Africa, and Asia. Directly comparable as a regional desalination/water treatment operator with similar RO capabilities, plant O&M, and industrial/municipal customer base.
• Ovivo: Canadian water and wastewater treatment solutions provider with RO, O&M, and equipment offerings. Comparable through its RO/membrane system capabilities and recurring service revenues, though with a different geographic footprint.
• Doosan Enpure: Korean EPC contractor specializing in seawater RO and wastewater treatment plants globally. Comparable through its SWRO plant design, build, and operations capabilities — a direct competitor for RO plant tenders in the Gulf.

Broad incumbents

• Suez Water Technologies & Solutions: Global water-treatment operator and technology provider with desalination, BOT/BOO, and asset-management offerings. Comparable through RO plant deployment and long-duration water concession experience, though at much larger scale.
• ACWA Power: Saudi-listed developer, owner, and operator of large-scale desalination and power projects across MENA. Directly comparable as a Saudi-based RO/IPP player, but at materially larger scale and broader portfolio than SAWACO's niche Jeddah-focused operation.
• Veolia Water Technologies: Global water-treatment major with a broad portfolio including desalination, O&M, and BOT/BOO project delivery. Overlaps with SAWACO's full-stack desalination, O&M, and engineering services, but at global scale with extensive municipal concession experience.
• Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC): Saudi government-owned entity that is the country's largest producer of desalinated water. Comparable as the dominant SWRO operator in the same market where SAWACO competes for potable-water contracts, though at vastly greater scale and with national mandate.

Emerging players

• H2O Innovation: Canadian water-treatment specialist in RO systems, O&M, and specialty chemicals for industrial and municipal clients. Comparable as a smaller specialist with similar equipment/services mix pursuing recurring O&M and rental-like arrangements at sub-incumbent scale.

Regional players

• Marafiq: Saudi-listed integrated water and wastewater utility serving industrial cities (e.g., Yanbu, Jubail). Comparable as a Saudi water utility leveraging BOT/BOO and concession models, though focused on industrial-city concessions rather than consumer/hospitality potable supply.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sawacowater
• Facebookfacebook.com/sawacowater
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sawaco---water-desalination

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SAWACO - Water Desalination