Metito Overseas Ltd, the globally-renowned water treatment, desalination and wastewater treatment expert, took part in the Second Global Bottled Water Congress that was held in Dubai from 20 to 22 September.

“Once all of the trials have been finished, the government will decide which cleaning method they prefer and implement it full-scale. This is just a Pilot Plant, but eventually we could be talking about developing a facility as big as 200 000 – 300 000 cubic meters per day. They will then take the treated water and re-inject it into the ground so that it can be filtered again by nature and re-enter the aquifer. The concept is really what sets the project apart, not the size.”

The Water Congress was the first international event on the bottled water industry in the Middle East. It was held from September 20 to 22, 2005 at Mina A' Salaam in the luxurious Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. The event was inaugurated by His Excellency Hamad Abdul Rahman Al Midfa, UAE Minister for Health.

Metito's participation in the event helped leverage its market outreach in view of its focus on opportunities for sea water desalination, emerging market trends and branding. It also gave Metito a platform to unveil its state-of-the-art technology to industry leaders as the high-profile event involved more than 100 delegates and participants from all over the globe, including promoters, directors, management personnel and branding specialists.

Talking about Metito's involvement in the Global Bottled Water Congress, Mr. Mahmoud Kabeel, the company's Plant Sales Manager in Dubai, said: 'We are proud to be associated with this prestigious event. Water is a very scarce commodity in this part of the world and we at Metito are constantly striving to develop new and efficient methods of converting the abundantly available sea water into potable water.'

Mr. Kabeel addressed the Congress with a presentation titled 'A Brief History of Water - From Sea To Bottle' as part of a module on Emerging Markets and Emerging Responsibilities. During the module, industry representatives contemplated solutions to address the crucial issues pertaining to water desalination and bottled water industry.

In the presentation, Mr. Kabeel emphasised the fact that only one per cent of fresh water available on Earth was available for use and how desalination was an economical as well as healthy and an environmentally-friendly solution, something Metito has is renowned for.

Metito is currently desalinating the sea water using the Reverse Osmosis Method which has been technically proved to be healthy for drinking purposes, said Mr. Kabeel, adding: 'With the help of the technology, we can have access to unlimited fresh water without depleting the natural resources of fresh water in the region.'

In the presentation, Mr. Kabeel challenged the prevalent notion that the region is associated with deserts and scarcity of water. 'There is an endless potential to source water for bottling industry and the process is quite economical and does not hamper environment in any way. Using our up-to-date technology, we have the expertise as well as the technical know-how to maximize the potential,' he said.

He added: 'Metito has always been associated with a cleaner environment and this event will give us a unique platform to showcase our state-of-the-art technology and unstinted commitment towards the nature. Our participation has given us the opportunity for a UAE-based company to showcase its capabilities to the global industry leaders.'