K-water, Naver to set up water management platform for Saudi Arabia

Korea Water Resources Corp., or K-water, is officially set to commence a water management platform in Saudi Arabia jointly with Korean internet giant Naver, for the next five years, the state-run water management agency said Tuesday.

The project was announced in a statement by Naver and Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing. This official agreement builds on a partnership initially established between Naver and K-water earlier this month, aiming to penetrate the Middle East.

Despite its largely arid desert terrain, Saudi Arabia has recently faced challenges in preventing and managing water disasters due to extreme rainfall linked to the climate crisis. In response, K-water plans to leverage its water management digital twin technology to address these issues.

K-water previously utilized its digital twin platform for flood forecasting at home. K-water intends to transfer the advanced systems developed through this platform -- including flood monitoring, forecasting and warning systems, rainfall radars, and flood simulations -- to Saudi Arabia.

“Saudi Arabia has chosen South Korea as its water management partner while preparing for the post-oil era and undertaking large-scale urban infrastructure projects. This partnership holds significant meaning. Whereas the Middle East boom of the 20th century was based on labor-intensive export industries, we now aim to secure new growth engines by pioneering a second era of Middle East, centered on the export of water-based core technologies and solutions,” said K-water CEO Yun Seog-dae.

In May, K-water showcased its water management digital twin technology at the World Water Forum.