Hyder awarded landmark Saudi Arabia advisory mandate

Hyder Consulting has been awarded a major advisory mandate by Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company (NWC) as part of a water and sewerage privatisation plan.

Hyder will act as client-side transaction advisors overseeing legal and financial teams in the scoping, procurement and close of three management contracts covering water and wastewater services in Greater Dammam, Medina and Mecca (including Taif).

This latest wave of PPPs in the Ministry of Water and Electricity/NWC Strategic Transformation Plan (STP) follows Hyder’s delivery of two Public Private Partnerships for Jeddah working in consortia with CRAI and E&Y in June 2008.

Roger Eyre, Director of Management Services at Hyder Consulting, said: “Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the world without running surface water - and with finite underground water reserves, it is heavily reliant on desalination plants.

“Now, with Saudi Arabia’s fast growing population, improving water and waste water services is top of the agenda.

“This latest contract with NWC extends the growing portfolio of successful transactions completed by our team in the Middle East over the last seven years, including Marafiq Corporatisation (KSA), MoEW Reform (Bahrain), Abu Dhabi & Al Ain Water & Electricity Companys’ O&M Outsourcing (UAE) and the Oman Wastewater Services Company Operations Management Services Contract.”