RIYADH, 11 October 2003 — The Kingdom is interested in energy-saving and environmentally friendly technology from Japan, and Minister of Water and Electricity Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi has asked Xenesys Inc. of Japan to submit a proposal for the use of its desalination-related technology.
“Dr. Al-Gosaibi has shown a keen interest in this new technology for use at the desalination plant at Jubail, the world’s largest desalination plant,” Masafumi Okubo, managing director of Xenesys, told Arab News.
He said the technology is did not increase operational cost.
The company’s negotiations with the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) — a government agency which runs a chain of desalination plants in the Kingdom — were in their final stages.
Another aspect of Xenesys technology, for which it is also seeking business partners, makes it possible to set up roof-top vegetable gardens that need watering once a week. “This could bring about a green revolution in the Saudi household, as it would allow the owners of villas with roof-top terraces to grow cucumbers, tomatoes, egg plants, rice and melons by watering them only once a week,” said Kenji Masaki, the president of Masaki Envec, which has won the New Energy Award.
Okubo and Masaki were in Riyadh recently for a water-related Japanese technology seminar organized here jointly by the United Nations Industrial Organization-Industrial Technology Promotion Office (UNIDO ITPO), Tokyo, and Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME) in association with the Japan External Trade organization (JETRO).
Okubu said the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) has issued a license to his firm to set up an SR2 million facility in the Kingdom - the minimum investment required for a license for an industrial project.