Finding Institutional Solutions to Water Scarcity in MENA

 In its report Economic Aspects of Water Scarcity in the Middle East and North Africa: Institutional Solutions, published a few days ago, the World Bank estimates that by the end of this decade, the amount of water available will fall below the absolute threshold of scarcity, set at 500 m3 per person per year.

The report states that an additional 25 billion m3 of water will be needed annually to meet the needs of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by 2050. This situation requires rapid responses, including investments in non-conventional water resources such as seawater desalination. At least 65 desalination plants of the size of Ras Al Khair would have to be built. Considered the largest seawater desalination plant in the world, the facility located in Saudi Arabia has a capacity of more than one million m3 per day.