RIYADH, 14 January 2007 — The Kingdom and Japan will hold water seminars in three major cities beginning Jan. 20, the Ministry of Water and Electricity announced yesterday.
The program dubbed “Saudi-Japan Water Seminar” is scheduled to take place on Jan. 20, 22 and 24 in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam respectively.
The seminars sponsored by Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME) in association with the Ministry of Water and Electricity will be conducted in cooperation with the chambers of commerce and industry in the three cities.
“This is a significant program to promote investment and technology transfer in the water sector,” Deputy Minister of Water and Electricity Loay Ahmed Al-Musallam told reporters. He pointed out that Japanese companies are currently carrying out projects in water and power sectors worth more than SR36 billion.
He indicated that the Kingdom is currently engaged in achieving so-called “World Class Water Utility” status whereby every citizen could have access to potable water, reasonably priced sanitation services, safe sewage systems and environmental and conservation assurances.
“To achieve these goals, the Kingdom’s water sector would require an investment of around $40 billion over the next two decades,” he said.
It is estimated that 12 million cubic of water will be needed in the Kingdom per day by 2024.
Enumerating the challenges faced by the government in the water sector, Musallam said the Kingdom has limited water resources but the consumption per capita is above 250 liters per day, one of the highest rates in the world. “Water coverage in the Kingdom is around 90 percent and the sewage collection is only 45 percent,” he said, pointing out that only six percent of the wastewater is re-used
“We have developed a strategic transformation plan with the help of international consultants through PPP projects in the cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah that account for half of the Kingdom’s water consumption,” he stressed.
Hiroshi Oka, minister at the Japanese Embassy, said his country has activated its positive cooperation with Saudi Arabia following the summit meeting between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Riyadh in 2003. He added that the Japanese companies possess vast experience and developed technologies in the field of water resources development and management.
“The participants in the three seminars will include 13 Japanese experts headed by Dr. Satoshi Takizawa, professor, Department of Urban Engineering at the University of Tokyo,” Yosuke Yamada, head of JCCME said.
The delegates representing 11 reputable Japanese companies will present technical papers on the latest Japanese water resources development and management technologies in the presence of Saudi experts.
“These discussions will enhance cooperation between the two countries in this sector and promote individual business meetings between Japanese companies and local participants,” he noted.
Yamada stated that his country currently carries out a number of water and power projects in the Gulf region amounting to $16.8 billion, which includes $9.8 billion in Saudi Arabia.
The bilateral trade between the two countries had reached SR81 billion in 2004. Japan is the largest investor in the Kingdom and it remains the Kingdom’s second largest trade partner. It imports 29.5 percent of its oil requirements from the Kingdom.
