The Middle East will need to invest over $100 billion in wastewater treatment and reuse over the next ten years, according to a report.

Most of this investment will come through innovative partnering strategies between local governments and private investors, according to the Meed report.

The region’s $100bn expenditure programme for the wastewater industry will be one of the topics discussed at this year’s Middle East Wastewater Treatment & Reuse conference being hosted by Meed on December 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi. The event will also explore future opportunities and new sustainability standards in growing wastewater sector as well as examine the pressures of serving an expanding population with only limited water resources and others.

The Middle East region represents almost 5 per cent of the global population yet it has only 1 per cent of the world's renewable fresh water. This fact, coupled with the extraordinary demand for power generation and clean water in response to rapid population growth, has resulted in governments prioritising the creation of water supply strategies, MEED said in a statement.

The region’s water shortage dilemma is being tackled head-on by local authorities, with significant investment directed toward improving and developing wastewater treatment and reuse services. This massive investment has made the Gulf the largest market for water treatment and reuse in the world.

Addressing the core issues surrounding this investment programme will be an impressive panel of over 20 international and regional industry leaders at the conference. The event, which will bring together world class speakers and high level delegates, will discuss various issues including developments in privatisation strategies, water demand management, sustainability and the implementation of new technologies. 

Highlighting the region’s efforts to drive solid Public-Private Partnerships and build reliable infrastructure at MEED’s conference will be Dr Mohammed Saeed al-Kindi, Minister of Environment & Water, UAE and Loay al-Mussallam, Deputy Minister of Planning & Development, Ministry of Water & Electricity, Saudi Arabia.

Edmund O'Sullivan, chairman, MEED Events said: “The availability of water has been the foundation of the continued growth of the region’s major cities, yet this resource has to be managed and reused wherever possible to ensure that new communities and business centres can continue to develop and grow.”

Aisha Mohamed Al Abdooli, head of operation sewage treatment plant, Dubai Municipality added: “We are currently seeing unprecedented rates of population growth in many areas of the GCC, and especially in the UAE, and with this growth comes the need for new treatment plants, enforcement of quality regulations and managing of government funding for wastewater treatment systems. The MEED Wastewater Treatment and Re-use conference 2007 gives government and industry specialists a platform to discuss effective strategies to manage and keep up with the rapid population growth”.

With senior figures from companies including Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services, ASHGHAL, United Utilities, Hyder Consulting Middle East, and Corodex Industries already confirmed to participate, the conference is an opportunity to discover first-hand what prospects are available in the regional water industry as well as interact with the key stakeholders and decision-makers.--TardeArabia News Service