JEDDAH, 24 March 2007 — Eight UK companies, specializing in various aspects of environmental management and protection, arrived in Jeddah last night for a five-day series of meetings and presentations to Saudi officials and companies. Led by Garry Poole of the Department of Trade & Industry in London, the delegation to visit Jeddah, Yanbu, Jubail and Alkhobar
“This is the fourth delegation concerned with environmental matters to visit Saudi Arabia in the last three years,” said Omar Saeed, senior trade & investment officer at the British Consulate-General in Jeddah. “It demonstrates the British commitment to work with their Saudi counterparts in trying to look at ways to solve some of the current environmental problems we have here.”
The interests of the companies in the delegation focus largely on the rectification and monitoring of threats to the environment. However, with the planned expansion of industry and the building of major industrial cities within the next few years, the delegates will be looking to advise on strategies to limit environmental damage from the planning stage onward.
The delegation’s skill set covers air pollution and gas emission control; Monitoring and removing asbestos contamination; wastewater cleaning and rectification of polluted groundwater and the conversion of greenhouse gases from the biodegredation of organic waste into a useable resource.
The group visits the Royal Commission in Yanbu this morning to give presentations on the latest innovations in hazard-control to representatives of the oil and petrochemical installations in the city. The last such delegation attracted considerable interest and, said Cecille ElBeleidi, acting British Consul-General and head of the UK Trade and Industry section, “We anticipate similar very positive interest this time.”Tomorrow the delegation will hold meetings and give presentations to the mayor of Jeddah, Adel Fakieh, the deputy mayor for services, Khalid Aqeel, and senior environmental officers at the municipality who will make presentations outlining the environmental problems that Jeddah faces.