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| Monday, 18 May 2009, 11:35 HKT | |
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Source: Singapore International Water Week | |
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Singapore, May 18, 2009 - (ACN Newswire) - Water industry players will get to hear first-hand the latest projects and business opportunities in the booming Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market at this year's Singapore International Water Week, a global platform for water solutions.
The MENA Business Forum is one of the eight business forums to be held on 24 and 25 June during the Water Week. These networking sessions will introduce participants to senior government officials and potential business partners in the Middle East and North Africa as well as other key markets such as Australia, China, Europe, India, Japan, North America and Southeast Asia. North Africa and North America are the latest additions for business forums this year.
These business forums are an example of the high-level exchanges and business networking that will take place during the second Singapore International Water Week, an annual premier water event that brings policymakers, industry leaders, experts and practitioners to address challenges, showcase technologies, discover opportunities and celebrate achievements in the water world.
Close to 10,000 delegates and trade visitors are expected at the event to be held from 22 to 26 June. Of these, 70% are expected to be overseas attendees. More than 20 ministers and government officials from the Middle East and North Africa will be attending the Water Leaders Summit, one of the flagship programmes of the Water Week. They include HE Dr Mohamed Nasr El Din Allam, Minister for Water Resources and Irrigation, Egypt, HE Matuq Mohd Matuq, Secretary for General People's Committee for Public Utilities, Libya, HE Fehied F. Alshareef, Governor of Saline Water Conversion Corporation, Saudi Arabia, HE Ahmed Al-Mudaiheem, Deputy Governor for Projects & Technical Affairs, Saline Water Conversion Corporation, SaudiArabia, and HE Rashid Ahmed Fahad, Minister for Environment and Water, United Arab Emirates.
In addition, Saudi Arabia's Minister for Water and Electricity, HE Abdullah Al Hussayen, will lead a delegation of some 50 captains and officials of the water industry from both the public and private sector, to attend the Water Week. His Excellency will also meet Singapore's key industry players at the launch of the Singapore Water Association's Directory. The occasion will provide an excellent opportunity for business networking between Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
Distinguished speakers share business opportunities at Middle East and North Africa Business Forum
At the MENA Business Forum on 25 June, participants will gain a better understanding and insight of the water and used water situation from both private and public sector perspectives.
Speakers from the Middle East will touch on business opportunities in the region. They include Mr. Paddy Padmanathan, President & CEO, ACWA Power International, Saudi Arabia, Mr. Abdulla Saif Al-Nuaimi, Director of Privatization, Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority, UAE as well as representatives from General Electricity & Water Authority in Qatar and National Water Company in Saudi Arabia.
From North Africa, the invited speakers will share on the emerging market and rising business opportunities in the region. They include officials from the Holding Company for Water & Wastewater, Egypt; Office National De L'Assainnissement, Tunisia and General People's Committee for Public Utilities, Libya.
"The MENA Business Forum presents an excellent platform for international participants to gain insights on development projects and business opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa region from government and industry leaders. The expansion of the forum to include North Africa will create even more excitement this year. With many Singapore companies making inroads into North Africa, we expect a bigger turnout and more business deals to be closed this year," said Mr Michael Toh, Managing Director of Singapore International Water Week.
Three Memorandums of Understanding (MOU), two with Bahrain and one with United Arab Emirates, were signed during last year's Middle East Business Forum. Some joint R&D projects have since been identified between Singapore and United Arab Emirates.
The Middle East and North Africa water market: An overview Even though five percent of the world's population lives in the MENA region, the region only contains less than one percent of the world's renewable fresh water1, with just 757m3 of freshwater per capita compared with 11,473m3 per capita in Europe and Central Asia. The World Bank expects water availability in the region to halve by 2050. Also, the MENA region is dominated by an arid and semi-arid climate. It has one of the highest of degradation of water quantity and quality.
Increased population growth and construction boom have put a strain on the region's water and wastewater infrastructure whilst rapid urbanisation leads to a demand for better sanitary and water facilities. Water consumption has been rising quickly and both government and utility providers are accelerating the expansion of the necessary infrastructure to supply water and treat used water.
The Middle East & North Africa (MENA) water market is expected to grow to US$183 billion in the next five years. Governments in the region are boosting their investment on water. Algeria, Egypt and Morocco, for instance, spend between 20 and 30 percent of their budgets on water.
The Middle East region is already a world leader in desalination, with the desalination market projected to generate expenditure of about US$95 billion between 2005 to 2015, of which around US$48 billion will be for new capacity. Singapore Companies Blazing a Trail in Middle East and North Africa For international water companies, the region's water predicament presents both challenges and opportunities. With the MENA governments' focus on developing the water infrastructure to deal with the demand for better sanitary and water facilities, several Singapore-based companies have taken the opportunity to make significant inroads into the MENA region.
Boustead Salcon Water Solutions was awarded an S$175 million engineering, procurement, construction turnkey contract to design, construct and upgrade a major water infrastructure system in Libya, while Sembcorp Industries acquired 40% of the S$2.1 billion Fujairah Integrated Water & Power Plant (IWPP) in Abu Dhabi which involves the expansion of generation capacity.
Hyflux has also won the bid for world's largest seawater desalination plant in Algeria, with a capacity of 500,000 cubic metres a day and a project value of US$468 million.
Active in the Arab world for several years, Keppel Seghers has completed over 30 water treatment projects in Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey. In 2007, Keppel Seghers won a S$1.5 billion contract to design and build a wastewater treatment and reuse plant in Qatar and operate it for 10 years. More information on the Singapore International Water Week is available at www.siww.com.sg Registration for the Water Week is now open.
About Singapore International Water Week
The Singapore International Water Week is the global platform for water solutions. It brings policymakers, industry leaders, experts and practitioners together to address challenges, showcase technologies, discover opportunities and celebrate achievements in the water world. Comprising the Water Leaders Summit, Water Convention, Water Expo and Business Forums, it culminates in the presentation of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, a prestigious international award to recognise outstanding contributions in solving global water issues. The 5th Singapore International Water Week, themed "Water Solutions for Liveable and Sustainable Cities", will be held from 1 to 5 July 2012, in conjunction with the 3rd World Cities Summit and the inaugural CleanEnviro Summit Singapore. For more information, plase visit www.siww.com.sg.
Contact:
Lee Ling Ling
Consultant
DID:+65 6372 3561
HP:+65 9647 8917
Email:lingling@bang.com.sg
Louann Wong
Associate
DID:+65 6372 3565
HP:+65 9728 8771
Email:louann@bang.com.sg
For further information, contact (Singapore International Water Week):
Wong Mai Yun, Wong_Mai_Yun@pub.gov.sg
Teo Yin Yin, Teo_Yin_Yin@pub.gov.sg
Source: Singapore International Water Week
Topic: Corporate Announcement
Sectors: Water, Environment General
http://www.acnnewswire.com
From the Asia Corporate News Network
Copyright © 2012 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network.
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