Dubai A Venue for Global Water Management
The event endorsed by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) addresses key water issues, and gathers industry leaders and specialists
DEWA has plans to increase production of water in a way that will cater for satisfying the growing local demand on water. With many new developments taking place, a booming tourism industry, and the influx of a large workforce into the Emirate, this demand is expected yet to increase further. The imminent shortage of water resources in the emirate has been compounded by the real estate boom with new construction projects taking a larger share of resources. Moreover, the residential sector now utilizes about 43,289 million imperial gallons, which represents 60% of the total water produced by them. This is distressing as UAE is already the second largest water consumer with 100-120 gal/capita.
Initiatives by DEWA
DEWA is managing demand on water and water consumption through its various recent initiatives such as recent campaign for raising conservation promotion with the Best Consumer Award, which recognizes the consumer who achieves the highest savings in electricity and water consumption offering cash prizes worth AED 22,000. With the new tariff system, DEWA believes the revised rates would deter people from over-consumption and help preserve the natural resources in the emirate. The move was aimed at encouraging major consumers to use less water and power.
"DEWA saves no effort in guaranteeing sufficient water supply to all residents and water consumers in the Emirate. Yet increased demand and a growing concern over the environment, combined with increased costs of production, lead to giving more emphasis to conservation and improvement of water production and distribution techniques and methods. We are glad that the Global Water Management Congress addresses these issues." said Eng. Amal Koshak, Manager Investor Services, DEWA.
The Congress
In this context, the Global Water Congress will focus on water generation, conservation and wastewater. His Excellency Saeed Mohammad Al-Tayer, CEO and Managing Director of DEWA will discuss some of the upcoming projects and requirements. DEWA has established an Environmental management system in accordance with the ISO 14001 standard and has recently commissioned the preparation for Green Buildings to a private consultant. In line with the resolution issued on implementation of Green Building specification by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, DEWA will be enforcing regulations to achieve the same, through various phases.
Regional authorities including the Ministry of Environment and Water-UAE are planning ambitious programs due to the rising concerns harming the environment and the sustainability trends. "The region’s water consumption is rising at a very fast pace making UAE the biggest consumer of water resources. We are hosting the industry experts from all across the world to discuss these key issues and innovative solutions to meet future demands. Since desalination is used widely across the region, a panel is scheduled to discuss its innovations and sustainability aspects, which will be addressed by President of the International Desalination Association and Director of the European Desalination Society,” explained Teena Tolani, Event Producer, naseba.
The Global Water Congress, organized by naseba, a leading international business information company, is taking place on October 26th – 27th, 2008 at the Raffles Hotel and will showcase water management solutions and innovative technologies. The decision makers including technical managers, engineering directors and HSE directors from cross-industry major corporations along with executives from regional water authorities in the Middle East will gather to discuss their wide interests and solutions. They will discover new projects by meeting the key players in the industry and will have the chance to find strategic partners for future investments and developments. The congress will feature leading companies such as UtilEco, Flowline Controls and H2O Innovation. Other influencing speakers from the water industry who will discuss latest trends and problem include the Chairman of the higher committee of Zayed International Prize for the Environment, the Secretary General from the Ministry of Water Resources-Algeria, the Manager for Technology at Shell, the Acting Director of Arab Water Academy and Director General of International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture. Full event details can be found at www.globalwatercongress.com.
naseba
Established in 2002, naseba produces business platforms focused on re-education, networking and most importantly increasing deal-making opportunities for executive clients. With offices strategically located in 5 cities around the world, naseba employs over 250 executives from more than 30 nationalities. naseba group went public on the Paris Stock Exchange on October 5th, 2006.
