Abdullah Al-Hussayen, minister of water and electricity, will inaugurate the Saudi Water and Power Forum (SWPF 2015) in Riyadh on Monday.

The forum’s theme is “achieving sustainable development through innovation.”

SWPF 2015, a three-day annual forum and exhibition for the water and power stakeholders, is taking place with support of the Ministry of Water and Electricity.

CWC Group, a technology oriented, engineering, operation and maintenance company, is organizing the event in partnership with Moya Bushnak.

According to organizers, this year’s forum — its 10th year anniversary edition — will focus on achievements attained in the past 10 years for both the water and power sectors.

Significantly, in its 10th year, the SWPF has moved to Riyadh, the heart of the water and power industry.

Jean-Lou Chameau, president of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), and Adil Bushnak, chairman of Moya Bushnak and director and IDA past president, will join the minister at the inauguration for opening keynote addresses.

The opening session also include an awards ceremony featuring “SWPF award for innovation,” “Marafiq award for sustainability” and “Aramco entrepreneurship and GE award on seawater desalination using renewable energy” to bring together the water and power industry to celebrate excellence and outstanding achievements in the sector.

The award ceremony will be followed by an exhibition to showcase 10 years journey of the forum and vision to achieve sustainable development.

The technical session will begin on Tuesday with the brainstorming on “Ten year anniversary: success, priorities and 10 years strategies for water and power sectors in the Kingdom” and the key speakers include Saleh Alawaji, deputy minister for electricity and chairman of the board of directors, Saudi Electricity company, Abdullah Al-Shehri, governor, electricity and co-generation Regulatory Authority (ECRA), Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim, governor, Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), Loya bin Ahmad Al-Musallam, CEO of the National Water Company (NWC) and Maher Al-Odan, head of research, development and innovation, King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE).

Apart from technical session, the key attraction this year include networking functions and an expanded exhibition space with international pavilions from the US, the UK, China, Germany and Japan.

The SWPF exhibition as well as technical seminars are both free to attend, organizers told Arab News, the media partner for the forum.

Notably, it is the premier water and power forum in the Kingdom, which plays key role in establishing connections between various stakeholders and partners with substantial agenda for sustainable growth.

Significantly, water scarcity is a stark reality as fresh water makes up a very small fraction of the available water in the Kingdom and the sustainable availability of potable water is a major concern in the region mostly surrounded by sea full of saline water.

The government is working at various levels with ambitious plans to upgrade, expand and transform the power and water sector.

The Kingdom is also working to improvise and develop desalination method of water for potability to fulfil drinking water requirements.