In November 2017, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported that Saudi Arabia's Water and Electricity Company (WEC) had sought expressions of interest for two large seawater reverse osmosis projects: Yanbu phase 4 with 450,000 m³/day on the Red Sea, 220 km west of Medina, and Shuqaiq phase 3 with 380,000 m³/day, 137 km north of Jazan. WEC might pair them with buying existing plants from Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC). Separate tenders would pick a developer for each under 25-year concessions, due by 23 November 2017.
The report showed Saudi Arabia handing large desalination capacity to private developers while also weighing the sale of older state-owned plants.