Energy and Industry Minister Opens WaterWorld Middle East 2012 Conference and Exhibition

Doha, February 06 (QNA) - HE Minister of Energy and Industry Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada opened today the Middle East Electricity and Water Conference and Exhibition at Qatar National Convention Centre, in the presence of the Iraqi Minister of Electicity Karim Aftan Al Jumaili. HE the Minister Dr. Al Sada along with the Iraqi minister inaugurated the exhibition accompanying the conference, which includes the latest solutions and designs technology related to the electricity and water industry with more than 130 companies representing 23 countries around the world participating . HE the Minister Dr. Al Sada said in a press statement after touring the various section of the exhibition that Qatar adopts a plan started to implement several years ago and today it is (Qatar) among a few countries that have backed up both in the electricity and water, and it always plans for the future given the rapid growth in all areas, whether residential, industrial or economic, HE the Minister added. He said that this growth needs greater amounts of electricity and water with an increase in water consumption during the last five years with an average of 13 per cent for electricity by 11 per cent, while no more than this figure to a global 2 per cent. He explained, "That's why we are in a race as we are among a few countries in the world that has a power reserve by a third, as well as a reserve water for more than 20 per cent," he said, adding, "We get ahead of the needs in Qatar to provide supplies from these two sources." He stressed the importance of the conference, which includes actors in the electricity and water industries, where they gathered in Qatar for the first time under one roof, which he described as a practical approach because in the Middle East and the Gulf Cooperation Council are specifically produced in a binary manner. HE Dr. Al Sada stressed the importance of the Conference it tackles the plans and strategies in addition to technology and developments in these vital areas . He pointed to increasing the area of the exhibition accompanying the conference this year by about 15 percent and attendance by about 50 per cent from last session, pointing out that it is very positive indicators in terms of the success of the conference. On the challenges that facing the conference, HE the Minister said that the primary of which is to keep pace with the increasing demand in the region as a whole, as people are increasing as well as industrial infrastructure, pointing out that the increase in the production of electricity and water must precede this growth and this has been Qatar policy, HE the Minister noted HE Minister of Energy and Industry Dr. Mohamed bin Saleh Al-Sada said that the Middle East has grown more attached to energy and water especially because these needs are facing serious challenge in a changing world. HE the Minister said that the prospects of electric energy in the 21st century shall be summarized in one word: "growth." HE said that the world's electricity consumption has doubled since 1980 and it's expected to double again by 2030. The cost of building new capacities to accommodate that kind of growth from now until 2030 would require about $14 trillion at a time when the world economy needs to provide $130 trillion, HE said. Dr. Al-Sada reviewed some progress tracks that Qatar achieved in the sectors of energy and water as many projects were carried out in the past few years to meet the rapid growth and development in Qatar and the increasing demand on these vital services. HE added that Qatar has built the largest reserves in the region, which helped secure its consumers' needs of electricity and maintain a surplus that could be exported through the network connecting GCC countries. Dr. Al-Sada stressed that Qatar will continue investing over the next decade in the field of power generation and water desalination in addition to expanding the transportation and distribution of electricity and water. "We are convinced with using the natural resources available to Qatar for the development of energy industries, including electric power generation," HE said as he pointed out that this would help achieve sustainable development and preserve the environment for future generations without jeopardizing its safety. HE said that sustainable development is crucial for GCC countries which lack natural water resources especially when taking into consideration the water consumption in these countries, where energy-intensive water desalination process is carried out on a wide scale. (END)