Bahrain is on course to connect its electricity grid to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by January 2011 if not earlier, according to the Chief Executive Officer, Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) in the Kingdom.
In an exclusive interview with Oxford Business Group (OBG), a leading global publishing and research firm, Dr Abdulmajeed Ali Alawadhi reiterated that the GCC interconnection project, which is high up on the Electricity Minister’s of the Arab League energy agenda, had not been affected by the global financial slowdown.
Dr Alawadhi also mapped out future stages of the project earmarked for up to 2012. “On July 27, Bahrain’s energy grid was connected to Saudi, Kuwait and Qatar,” he said. “The next phase will see connection with the UAE in early 2011. The issue of interconnection to Oman is being finalised and it is hoped that the network interconnection to Oman will be operational immediately after UAE.”
The interview with the EWA’s CEO will appear in The Report: Bahrain 2010, OBG’s forthcoming guide on the Kingdom’s business activity and investment opportunities. The report offers unrivalled, up-to-date analysis of political, macroeconomic and sectoral developments, including banking, capital markets, energy, infrastructure, industry and insurance. The EWA is responsible for the production, transmission and distribution of power and water in Bahrain.
With alternative energy also high on the Electricity Minister’s in the Arab League agenda, Dr Alawadhi highlighted the success that Abu Dhabi had achieved for the region by clinching the vote to host the headquarters for The World alternative energy resources “ARENA”. “This is a major achievement for UAE and the GCC because it is one of the first leadership initiatives of this sort to be successfully undertaken in this part of the world,” he said.
Dr Alawadhi added that alternative energy was also under the spotlight in Bahrain following a decision to develop solar and wind plant facilities in the Kingdom. These two energy sources, he said, were chosen because they were found to be the most suitable for the region and also due to their proven commercial success abroad. “Solar and wind are available worldwide as a commercially viable solutions,” he said. “A small solar wind plant will be built to produce electricity both to use as a prototype and to be commercially viable.”
On other fronts, financing of infrastructure projects has been an issue for private companies responsible for power and water projects in the Kingdom, including the new plant at Al Azzul, Dr Alawadhi remained upbeat that the works would now gather pace. “We are working with the private developers to solve the finance issues they had with the banks so that Bahrain’s energy infrastructure projects remain on track,” he said. “Some of the private sector’s electricity and water projects were delayed because financing fell through when the crisis hit. However, the financing is now in place and the projects are moving ahead.”
With EWA being the sole entity responsible for the running, transmission and distribution of Bahrain’s power, Dr Alawadhi highlighted the positive results that the privatisation of the non-core had produced, saying it had greatly improved the services. “The private sector is now taking on all of the side work that used to be done in house, such as carpentry, aluminium work, and maintenance of street-lighting cranes,” he said. “There is a lot of competition in the market among the private sector so there are incentives to do the best job at the best price.”
The Report: Bahrain 2010 will serve to reinforce OBG’s place as the world market leader in providing accurate, insightful economic information on developing and emerging economies across the continents. Rated as the premier source of information for foreign direct investment into Bahrain’s economy, the highly-anticipated report will be a vital guide to the many facets of the Kingdom, including its macroeconomics, infrastructure, political landscape, banking and sectoral developments.
The Report: Bahrain 2010 will be available in print form or in electronic format online, forming part of the range of OBG’s publications which are renowned as leading sources of information on developing and emerging economies around the world.
