GE has signed a MoU with Miahona, a subsidiary of the Arabian Company for Water and Power Development (ACWA Holding) to support Saudi Arabia’s water reuse goals.

“Saudi Arabia has one of the fastest growing economies in the Middle East, and the wastewater and water reuse issues need to be addressed now, in order to sustain this rapid growth over the next five years,” said Professor Walid A Abderrahman, managing director of Miahona.

Combining GE’s global water technology experience and expertise with Miahona’s established local presence and knowledge of regional water needs, the MOU provides a framework for promoting the use of advanced membrane technology such as Membrane Bioreactors in water reuse and the pursuit of wastewater treatment, wastewater reuse and zero liquid discharge projects in the kingdom.

Miahona and GE will also mutually cooperate on projects related to Well Injection utilising GE’s advanced Increased Oil Recovery (IOR) and Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) solutions. A key expectation is for GE to deliver advanced technology and treatment solutions to meet the kingdom’s environmentally conscious municipal and industrial wastewater discharge regulations.

“This MoU with Miahona reflects GE’s active response to the kingdom’s call for more private sector initiatives to establish and manage water reuse projects and plants,” added Joseph Anis, GE Energy’s president for the Middle East.

The Middle East and North Africa region has five per cent of the world’s population and less than one per cent of the world’s available water supply.

The water reuse market in Saudi Arabia is expected to be worth $3.4 billion between 2009 and 2016, making it the third largest water reuse market in the world.

Saudi Arabia’s advanced treated water reuse capacity is growing annually at a rate exceeding 30 per cent and is expected to reach 2.2 million cubic meters per day by 2016 from its current level of 260,000 cubic meters per day.

The MoU also builds on GE’s water technology presence in Saudi Arabia, and follows the opening last year of the 7,500 square meter GE Water & Process Technology Center in Dammam, which represents a $10 million investment.-TradeArabia News Service