JEDDAH, 17 August 2005 — Jeddah is to host its first Forum for Water and Power from Nov. 12 to 14. The event, organized in response to the increasing concerns with the long term supply of potable water in the Kingdom, will be opened by Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed and Abdullah Al-Hussayen, minister of water & electricity. Both will make keynote speeches on specific areas of concern in the water industry.
Organized by the UK-based company CWC Associates Ltd., the forum is set to be one of the year’s most influential conferences in Saudi Arabia. Business leaders operating in the desalination and power generation/transmission sectors around the world have been invited and confirmations received.
The conference will present in detail Saudi Arabia’s 25-year water and electricity plan. As the water supply and distribution sector is destined for privatization, a main theme will be investment opportunities for the private sector. The project scope for Industrial Wastewater Pretreatment Permits (IWPPs), Marafiq’s major utility investment plans, and Saudi Aramco’s co-generation projects will all be explored.
Marafiq is a joint-stock company, owned by four major shareholders — Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), Saudi Aramco, Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RC) — and seven private sector investors. Marafiq began operating as a private power and water utility company on Jan. 1 2003, with SR2.5 billion of initial owner equity. The establishment of such a major institution signaled the certainty of the drive to privatization of water and power generation in the Kingdom.
UK Trade and Investment which has close links with the development of the water supply and waste water industries in the Kingdom that were enhanced by visits to specialist exhibitions in the UK earlier this year have confirmed their pavilion. Omar Saeed, trade and investment officer at the British Consulate in Jeddah, said that 10 companies had confirmed participation and he expected that number to double.
“The visits to the UK early this year generated great interest in the delegates we invited and with the UK specialist companies,” he pointed out. On Saturday Nov. 12, we hope to participate in the Saudi/British/Japanese Seminar on New Technologies prior to the official opening by Prince Abdul Majeed, he said. “Only companies with new technologies will be speaking at this session and we have plenty to offer.”
The provisional agenda for the conference and the technical seminars, to be held on the first day of the conference will present in detail the latest commercial technologies and innovations in water and power sectors. Parallel technical sessions organized by leading industrial countries will cover current and projected developments in the water industry. Representatives from the UK, Japan and Saudi Arabia have highlighted their interest in participating in the seminars.
Topics scheduled for the strategic conference to be held on the second and third days of the forum include: power and water privatization initiatives; regulations, incentives and the legal framework for investment; new financing mechanisms; water management and distribution and new technologies in water and power.
The electricity and water authorities have already announced plans to build 21 water and electricity projects to meet the anticipated demands from the country’s rapidly increasing population and industry. The total cost is estimated to be in excess of SR48 billion ($13), much of which will be financed by the private sector.
In 2005 alone the government spent SR17.2 billion on new water, sewage and desalination projects. Over the next 20 years, investment in water and waste disposal projects is estimated to be about SR100 billion ($26 billion.)
