Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest market for RO membranes, accounting for 21% of global demand. It relies on seawater desalination for more than 70% of its water supply.
The collaboration between LG Chem and Alkhorayef Group is expected to help the kingdom secure a stable supply of water and achieve its “Vision 2030” goals, of which the $1.5 trillion Neom megaproject is the centerpiece.
Last year, LG Chem secured an exclusive contract as the sole supplier of RO membranes for Israel's Ashdod desalination project.
At home, LG Chem will invest 124.6 billion won ($90 million) to build an RO membrane plant within its factory complex in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, with an annual capacity of 400,000 units. It has pledged to double its RO capacity over the next five years.
Presently, LG Chem manufactures enough RO membranes to process 5.1 million tons of seawater into drinking water daily worldwide.
That amounts to 1.86 billion tons of potable water per year, which meets the needs of more than 46 million people based on an average per-capita daily water consumption of 110 liters.
Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article
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