The global water crisis has spawned a market opportunity worth billions of dollars.

According to the forecast of GWI,an international water research institute,the global market size of desalination equipment will exceed $22 billion by 2025,with continued strong demand for procurement in the Middle East,North Africa,and Southeast Asia.As the world’s largest producer of reverse osmosis membranes,China will play a crucial role in this market.The company has maintained a compound annual growth rate of 18% for three consecutive years,and its successful bids for projects such as Jubail 3B in Saudi Arabia have demonstrated its technical capabilities.

The three core challenges of equipment export

• Thecertificationsystemhasbecomeincreasinglycomplex.
  • ThePEDPressureEquipmentDirectiveintheEUCEcertification
  • TheenergyefficiencygraderequirementsforSaudiSASOcertification
  • TheNSF/ANSI61StandardforDrinkingWaterSystemComponentsintheUnitedStates
• Customized requirements for transportation solutions
  • Theland-seacombinedtransportsolutionforoversizedcomponents(>12meters)
  • Temperatureandhumiditycontrolforshockproofpackagingofmembraneelements
  • Optimizingthetariffsforsecondarytransfersattheprojectsite
• Building an after-sales service system
  • 48-houremergencyresponsemechanism
  • Localizedsparepartsstoragelayout
  • Multilingualadaptationoftechnicaldocuments

Value creation points of professional agency services

In 2024,a Zhejiang-based equipment manufacturer entered the Oman market through a professional agency,which was more efficient than operating independently.

• Thecustomsclearancetimehasbeenshortenedby62%(from23daysto8.5days).
• ThecostofbeingstrandedinHongKonghasbeenreducedby79%($12,300→$2,580).
• Theafter-salescomplaintratehasdroppedby91%(from17casesto1.5cases).

The gold standard for agency service provider selection

• Industry-specificserviceteam
  • Havingthequalificationforexportregistrationofmechanicalproducts
  • BefamiliarwithprofessionalstandardssuchasASMEandAWWA
• Verify the global service network
  • WehaveourowncustomsclearanceteamintheMiddleEastregion.
  • MainportcooperationyardsinAfrica
• Risk management system
  • Softclauseidentificationsystem
  • PoliticalRiskEarlyWarningMechanism

Typical case: Customs clearance optimization solution for the UAE project

In the export of equipment for a seawater desalination project with a daily processing capacity of 100,000 tons,the agent service provider handles it by the following steps:

• ByadoptingtheHScode-baseddeclarationstrategy,thetariffratehasbeenreducedby4.7%
• Designamodulartransportationsolutiontosave37%CustomsClearanceStability
• Pre-reviewtechnicaldocumentstoavoiddelaysinECAScertification

Strategies for Responding to Market Trends in 2025

Regarding the upcoming new regulations for seawater desalination equipment in Saudi Arabia (SASO 2879:2025),it is recommended that:

• Conductanenergyefficiencypre-testsixmonthsinadvance
• Upgradetheinterfaceoftheremotemonitoringsystem
• EstablishanArabictechnicaldocumentlibrary