Meed’s Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Conference 2008, a two-day event, will begin on November 24, in Abu Dhabi.

The opening keynote address will feature an analysis of the current resource situation in the Middle East and the realities of meeting growing demand, by Rashid Ahmad bin Fahad, Minister of Water & Environment, UAE.

Water and politics have become inextricably linked in the Middle East and potable water scarcity is a topic that has been keenly discussed for many years, so much so that water has been described as being the new oil in terms of its future importance in the region, said an organiser.

'The rapidly expanding Gulf economies are presenting increasing demands upon the already scarce supplies. Existing infrastructures are also coming under pressure and some industry experts have estimated that up to 40 per cent of all supply is currently lost in transit,' stated Edmund O’Sullivan, chairman of Meed Events.

'What is often less well understood is that growing demand and increased water usage results in increasing quantities of wastewater being created that needs to be treated.'

'The recent events, as witnessed in the Jumeirah area of Dubai, of beach areas being polluted by raw untreated sewage have ably demonstrated what can happen when the quantity of wastewater created outstrips the capacity to cope and treat it,' he added.

'With Gulf economies investing increasingly large amounts to upgrade their infrastructures, new opportunities are continuing to be created for both domestic and international companies in the wastewater and reuse industry, especially in areas like Saudi Arabia.”

Regional population expansion is also leading to an increased demand for power in the region and, despite the introduction over the last decade of membrane technology, desalination remains a very energy intensive process of creating potable water.

As water desalination in the Middle East has been calculated to be responsible for approximately 75 per cent of the world’s total capacity, and regional power generation is also in need of large scale investment to meet demand in the near future, the opportunity to reuse wastewater makes both environmental and economic sense.

Leading industry representatives from across the Gulf region will be present at the event who will be offering delegates insightful updates on recent happenings within the regional wastewater industry.-TradeArabia News Service