A consultancy team have been taken on to advise on two privately owned desalination projects that could kick off the Saudi's recently announced privatization blitz.

The Water and Electricity Company (WEC) has chosen a team comprising Clifford Chance, Fichtner and Synergy Consulting to advise on the signing of offtake contracts for the desalination expansion at the Shoaiba power and water plant and the Khafji solar-powered SWRO plant.

Synergy provided developer-side financial support on a number of power and water projects in Saudi Arabia with ACWA Power, while Fichtner and Clifford Chance have a long track record in the power and water sector in the region.

WEC is jointly owned by state-owned bodies the Saline Water Conversion Corporation and the Saudi Electricity Company. It is the main offtaker of power and water from privately owned desalination plants in the Kingdom.