RIYADH -  Saudi Arabia is poised to unveil specifications for 21 water and power projects worth nearly 13 billion dollars as part of an ambitious privatisation drive, Water and Electricity Minister Ghazi al-Gosaibi say.

Details of the projects will be revealed on Monday to local and foreign investors attending a conference here of the 100 top companies in the Gulf region, Gosaibi said, quoted by the official SPA news agency.

"The Saudi Electricity Company and the Water and Electricity Company will unveil specifications for 21 projects in the fields of power generation and transmission and water desalination worth 48 billion riyals (12.8 billion dollars)," he said.

The government of the oil-rich kingdom last November endorsed a plan to open up 20 vital sectors for local and foreign private investors in a bid to generate tens of billions of dollars to pay for a staggering public debt.

Areas opened up to the private sector include telecommunications, water desalination, air transport, airport services, construction and management of highways, seaport services and local oil refineries.

AFP