JEDDAH, 20 January 2007 — Drinking water problem in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries will be the focus of a three-day conference on water desalination in Arab countries that opens at the InterContinental hotel in Riyadh tomorrow. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is scheduled to open the conference.
Ahmed Al-Mudaiheem, deputy governor of Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) who heads the organizing committee, said a specialized exhibition would be held on the sidelines of the conference with the participation of companies that supply desalination technology and equipment.
Keynote speakers include Abdul Majid Al-Awadi, Bahrain’s deputy minister of electricity and water; Thamer Al-Sharhan, CEO of Marafiq in Saudi Arabia, Abdulhadi Al-Otaibi of Kuwaiti Institute for Scientific Research, Mohammad Al-Sofi of Arabian Consulting Engineering Center, Christopher Gasson of Global Water Intelligence UK and Mohammed Al-Mazroi of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Privatization in water desalination, water status in the Gulf region, significant water production increase for Jeddah desalt plants, Saudi Arabia and global desalination market, manufacturing vital spare parts in the Kingdom, toward sustainable water sector development, and effect of desalt plants on sea and air environment are some of the topics for debate.
SWCC, which has more than 30 years experience in the field, will present 15 papers. SWCC speakers include Saeed Al-Harthi, Ibrahim Al-Ateeq, Dr. Mohamed Saeed, Mohamed Al-Thubaiti, Yousuf Mansour and Abdul Razak Haijan. Ehab Sadek Taha of SWCC will speak on life extension of power desalination plants.
The conference is significant for Saudi Arabia, which currently depends on desalination for 70 percent of its water requirements. The rest comes from some 230 dams and hundreds of wells. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water, with 30 desal plants on the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf coasts.
The Kingdom’s water and electricity sectors are growing at the rate of seven percent. According to Water and Electricity Minister Abdullah Al-Hussayen, the Kingdom requires nearly SR350 billion ($93.3 billion) in investment for water and sewage projects and SR340 billion ($90.6 billion) for electricity projects during the next 20 years.
Naif Al-Harbi, director general of Al-Harbi Trading & Contracting Company, one of the official sponsors, said the conference would find out administrative solutions for water problems in the Arab world. He emphasized the need for greater participation of the private sector and society to address the problem.
Water resources in the Arab countries are estimated at 371.8 billion cubic meters including river and underground waters. According to recent reports, annual per capita water share of Arabs decreased from 3,300 cubic meters in 1960 top 1,250 cubic meters in 2000. The figure is expected to decline further to 650 cubic meters by 2025 as a result of growing population.
