JEDDAH: More than 3,000 experts from within the Kingdom and abroad will attend the fourth Saudi Water & Power Forum (SWPF), “Change, Innovation and Sustainable Development” at Jeddah Hilton from Nov. 2 to 5. Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal will open the event.
The forum will discuss the privatization of water and power sectors, the impact of tariff policy on utilities, ways to achieve sustainability through innovation, water reuse and wastewater management.
“The holding of this annual international forum reflects the Kingdom’s keenness to develop the water and electricity sectors,” said Water and Electricity Minister Abdullah Al-Hussayen.
“It will have eight working sessions dealing with major requirements of the water and electricity sectors in the Kingdom, especially the requirements of the mega economic cities being developed in Rabigh, Hail, Madinah and Jizan,” the minister said. Speaking about investment opportunities in water and electricity, Al-Hussayen said the Kingdom would require more than $200 billion in investment for desal and power generation projects during the next 15 years in order to meet the needs of its growing population and economic development.
Adel Bushnak, chairman of the forum’s board of directors, said the conference would focus on investment opportunities in water and electricity and application of modern technology to boost production and protect environment. “It provides a good opportunity to power and water companies as well as public and private agencies to exchange expertise and views necessary for taking strategic decisions,” Bushnak said.
SWPF 2008 seeks to attract companies and investors that aim to capitalize on additional 30GW of power generating capacity targeted by the Ministry of Water and Electricity for 2020, Bushnak said. This figure will double the current capacity of 29.1GW which is produced at a cost of $100 billion.
The development of water and electricity sectors is essential in the light of an expected 45 percent increase in population to 36.4 million by 2020. Total water supply in the Kingdom is now estimated at 52 million cubic meters a day.
Prominent speakers at the forum include Minister Al-Hussayen, Mohammad Abunayyan, chairman of Arabian Company for Water & Power Projects, Fehied Fahad Al-Shareef, governor of Saline Water Conversion Corp., Fareed Zedan, governor of Electricity & Cogeneration Regulatory Authority, Ali Al-Barak, president and CEO of Saudi Electricity Company, Omar Al-Ghamdi, president of Water & Electricity Company, and Sheikh Mohamed Al-Khalifa from the Ministry of Finance in Bahrain.
Other speakers include Dr. Fareed Al-Yagout, president of National Power Company, Saleh Alawaji, deputy minister for electricity and Ibrahim Aljomaih, CEO of Aljomaih Group.
