Summary of Industrial Study
Introduction:
This summary provides an overview of the plastic pipes
industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and describes the
products and the manufacturing process besides supply,
historical & future demand, prices & factors, and competition.
Product Description
Plastic Pipes are mostly used in secondary & tertiary
distribution of potable water, transportation of sewage &
drainage and Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) ducts. The plastic pipes
that are widely used are made of Polyolefin (PO) and Poly Vinyl
Chloride (PVC). The Polyolefin include PolyPropylene Random
(PPR) & Polyethylene (PE) pipes.
Pipes Type Diameter use
PVC 25-1000 mm Sewage and drainage
PPR 20-63 mm Internal plumbing
PE 16-1000 mm Secondary water distribution
PE pipes are mostly used in secondary water distribution while
PPR pipes are exclusively used in Internal Plumbing in
Commercial & Residential buildings and PVC used mostly in
sewage & drainage application. Limited quantities of PVC are
used in internal plumbing however it is now being replaced by
PPR pipes. PVC pipes are produced in the diameters ranging
between 25 mm to 1,000 mm in the standard length of 6 meters
with different color options. PE pipes are produced in the
diameters ranging between 16 mm to 1 meter. The sizes from
16 mm to 32 mm are available in coils of 100, 200, 300 up to
1,500 Meters while sizes above 400 mm are available in coils of
100 meters. Larger diameters are available in straight lengths of
12 meters. PPR pipes are manufactured in the diameters
between 20-63 mm in standard length of six meters with green
color.
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Manufacturing Process
Extrusion Process is used to manufacture plastic pipes and
Injection Moulding process for fittings. In extrusion process the
raw material (Polymer & Master batch or Polymer compound)
is fed to the extruder where it gets melted and is then forced
through a die head. The die head decides the diameter of the
pipe and gives a tube shape. This tube then passes through a
cooling channel to make the tube rigid. At the end of the cooling
channel a cutting device cuts the tube to the desired length.
These tubes/pipes are inspected and checked for quality and
then packed to be transported to customers. In injection
moulding process, the raw material ( Polymer & Master batch or
polymer compound) is fed automatically to the machine where
it is melted and injected into the mold. If the fitting required
brass insert, the operator inserts the appropriate brass in the
mold manually. The mold then opens automatically to eject the
fittings. The fittings are inspected and checked for quality. After
inspection the fittings are polished and packed in cardboard
boxes for marketing.
Market Overview
All major PPR producers are located in the Central Region,
mainly in Riyadh. Imported PPR pipes available in the Kingdom
market are mostly imported from Germany and Turkey. There
are many PVC & PE pipe producers in the Kingdom distributed
mainly in the other regions. In the internal plumbing sector, PPR
is gradually displacing uPVC/cPVC. However, this is occurring at
a much faster rate in the Central Region. Also PE 100 pipes have
replaced PVC in secondary water distribution networks. Most
PVC pipe producers are engaged in exports, whereas PPR & PE
producers are currently focused on import substitution and
satisfying local demand. Ministry of Water & Electricity
(MOWE) recommends PE pipe for secondary portable water
networks for small diameters up to 200 mm with pressure class
16 bars and house connections for diameters ranging from 12
mm to 75 mm. uPVC is recommended for sanitary & water
networks for diameters between 100 – 200 mm.
PVC pipe is the leader among plastic pipes with nearly all end PVC Pipes & Fittings (TPA)

users utilizing PVC to some degree. PE pipes are expected to 350000 5%

take market share away from PVC in potable water distribution 300000
250000 0%
applications.

Growth Rate
200000

Ton
-5%
In the Kingdom’s market, the majority of the demand for PVC 150000
pipes is from the external plumbing & infrastructure projects 100000 -10%
that includes drainage & sewage networks. 50000
0 -15%
The main demand for the PE pipes is accounted by MOWE, 2013 2014 2015
Telecom companies & irrigation. Also the demand for HPE Local supply Imports Exports
Demand Growth%
telecom ducts originates with the KSA’s major telecom
companies
KSA PVC pipe manufacturers have exported between 20%-40%
The main diameters used are 20mm-40mm with 110mm of their production to the GCC and MENA region markets.
reserved for special applications. Imports mostly originate from Bahrain Pipe factory located
Manama.
Supply/Demand
The historical demand of PPR pipes & fittings in the Kingdom is as The historical demand of PE pipes & fittings in the Kingdom is
follows: as follows:
PPR Pipes & Fittings (TPA)
PE Pipe & Fittings (TPA)
25000 15%
200000 16%
20000
14%
Growth Rate

10%
15000 150000 12%
Ton

Growth Rate
10%
10000
Ton

5% 100000 8%
5000 6%
50000 4%
0 0%
2%
2013 2014 2015
Local supply Imports Demand Growth% 0 0%
2013 2014 2015

The major exporting countries are Germany & Turkey. These Local supply Imports Exports
Demand Growth%
two countries together account for over 80% of the total
imports of PPR Pies & Fittings to Kingdom.
Unlike the PVC sector, where exports are highly developed, the
The historical demand of PVC pipes & fittings in the Kingdom is as PE sector has not yet developed a significant export market.
follows: This is because applications for PE pipes are more restricted
than the PVC sector, the sector is much younger and therefore

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less well developed. It is clear from the minimal level of imports
that the Kingdom is self-sufficient in PE pipes.
Future Demand
The main demand for the plastic pipes comes from the
construction projects that include water distribution, residential
& commercial, sewage & drainage and irrigation. These sectors
performed well during the last five years, however same was
reduced to single digit or even negative during last two years
with expectation of improvement from 2018 & onwards. The
future demand at a negative growth rate of 10% for PVC pipes
during 2016 & no growth during 2017 and stagnant growth for
PE & PPR during 2016 & 2017 with an increase of 3% for all
types from 2018 & onwards of pipes is expected to be as
follows:
Future Demand of Plastic Pipes (2016-2020)
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0 97%
‫م‬2016 ‫م‬2017 ‫م‬2018 2019
PPR PVC PE
Pricing
The selling prices of plastic pipes are driven mainly by the cost
of the pipe grade polymer resin. The selling prices of polymer
resin are dependent on the prices of crude oil that keeps
fluctuating. PE , uPVC and PPR resin are locally available from
SABIC whereas cPVC resin are imported from Europe mostly
Lubrizol. Also selling prices are effected by pipe specification,
order-size, customer loyalty and supply/demand situation. The
pricing approach used in this industry is “cost of resin-plus” to
establishing the price at which they quote for contracts. Typical
markups are either on a % basis or a fixed amount per ton. The
prices of the plastic pipes are fixed on the basis of the thumb
rule Polymer resin price per ton plus conversion cost per ton
plus 15% to 20% as the profit margin. The conversion cost
includes manpower cost, utilities cost & deprecation.
Competition
The market for PPR pipes and fittings is clearly divided into a
premium and standard/commodity segment. Long-established
German brands Aquatherm, Banninger, and Polyplast dominate the
premium segment. In case of PVC pipes (uPVC/cPVC), market is
dominated by local producers with minor imports. It faces intensified
competition in the small diameter sector due to product substitution
by PPR, which is offset by strong growth in demand for the 75mm
and above sector. The market share for local supply & imports during
2015 is diagrammatically shown as below:
PPR
19% PVC
6%
PE
3%
PE
2020 PVC
94%
PPR
81%
Local supply Imports
The competition in the local market remains intense due to the
availability of major companies producing almost the same
product in terms of quality. These companies compete face to
face in the local market as all are approved by MOWE & NWC.
PE fittings are dominated by European manufacturers Georg
Fischer (Switzerland) and Ritmo (Italy).
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Conclusion
Pipes are vital to water & sewage industry; they connect source
to consumer efficiently, economically and reliably. Because the
journey of water from source to treatment plant to consumer to
waste treatment and ultimately back to the source can take
many different paths, a wide variety of materials and sizes has
arisen to best handle each segment of the trip. Prior to second
world war, using plastics for water or waste water was unheard.
In the last thirty years, however, the versatile material has come
to dominate most segments of the market. Plastic pipes over the
years have become very popular because they are light, easy to
install and easy to repair. In the Kingdom Plastic Pipes made of
PVC started penetrating the pipe market during late 70s. The
Polyolefin pipes (PE & PPR) market started developing from late
90s. Although PPR has been in the Kingdom since 1980s
imported from Germany but was limited to high end projects.
The PVC pipe market in the Kingdom is quite mature in terms of
local production.

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