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| Metito chair Middle East Water and Wastewater Management Conference |
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Metito, the international water treatment, desalination and wastewater treatment expert revealed the severity of the fresh water availability for Middle East North Africa region while chairing the first Middle East Water and Wastewater Management Conference taking place on the 28th January - 1st of February in Dubai.
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The company has reassured the audience that this dilemma is being met head-on with significant investment in desalination and water reuse.
Fady Juez, the managing Director of Metito and conference chairman said:
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Fady Juez, the Managing Director of Metito |
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'About 45 million people in MENA region lack safe water and more than 80 million lack safe sanitation. This is increasingly alarming since this region is already the driest region in the world. The good news is that MENA countries are sensing the need to find alternative solutions so they are able to meet the increasing demand for fresh water. Over $120 billion worth of investment is going to be spent on the water and wastewater infrastructure in the region over the next decade with significant expenditure from KSA, Egypt and UAE'.
Juez added: 'The Gulf region remains the largest market for water desalination in the world and local municipalities are seriously examining ways of looking to double existing capacity to meet regional demand. However, it is North Africa that will experience the greatest growth in desalination, Algeria and Libya experiencing a 300% growth'.
Water desalination, specifically membrane processes based on reverse osmosis, is becoming more efficient as more technologically advanced methods are being developed. 'The price of desalinating one cubic meter of water has come down more than a third of what it used to be 10 years ago. However, I would like to stress that water desalination may not be the only cost effective solution for water shortage: demand management, efficiency improvements and development of new sources should be a priority in order to decrease the costs of water.' added Juez.
The first Middle East Water and Wastewater Management Conference brings together a panel of 20 international and regional speakers to address issues in the areas of privatisation, water demand management, water loss and the protection of water resources for the long term. All of which will be addressed alongside the latest technical advances from leading researchers and practitioners in the field of water preservation.
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