JEDDAH, 2 February 2008 — Specialists in the water industry and formation of Private Public Partnerships (PPPs) are to pay a three-day visit to the Kingdom beginning today.
While in Jeddah the group will meet the Jeddah Deputy Mayor Ibrahim Kutubkhanah, and some Ministry of Water & Electricity officials.
UK Trade & Investment, the British government organization that supports companies in the UK doing business internationally and organizers of the current trip, brought the companies who are keen to develop the considerable opportunities that are now arising in Saudi Arabia as a result of the public sector reforms being carried out by the Saudi government. Andrew Cahn, chief executive of UK Trade & Investment, said in London: “British firms have done business in Saudi Arabia quite successfully for years. Firms who specialize in the water industry and infrastructure have worked there in the past and taken advantage of business opportunities in the Kingdom.”
The delegation consists of engineering consultants, a law firm and specialist equipment manufacturers. The group will visit Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam and will meet senior government officials responsible for all aspects of the water sector and Saudi firms interested in forming partnerships with UK firms.
“What we are now saying is that there are opportunities in Saudi Arabia that British firms seriously need to look at,” Cahn said. “Their knowledge and expertise is in demand and we will do all we can to make sure that companies benefit from that.”
During its visit, the group is scheduled to hold discussions with Abdullah Mohammed Al-Aboudi, director general of the General Directorate of Water in Riyadh, and Abdul-Malik Al-Sheikh, director of Prince Sultan Research Center for Environment and Water Studies. Already the world’s leader in the use of desalination, the Kingdom is under pressure to develop its water resources. On the downstream side of water extraction and use is waste disposal. Opportunities for recycling and water reclamation projects are as pressing a need as supply.