WETEX has become an important and vital regional resourcing platform for energy, water and power sectors
Under the directives of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the 12th Water Technologies, Energy and Environment Exhibition (WETEX 2010) will be held from March 9 – 11, 2010 under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance. The show, spread over an area of 15,000 square meters, has attracted participation from over 490 international and regional companies from 23 countries, including Italy and China. The event is being organised by Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA)
Emphasising the importance of the exhibition, H.E Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, said: “We are pleased with the growth WETEX has been registering year after year. This show comes at a time when DEWA has allocated Dh6.42 billion to implement new projects and complete current ones in the fields of electricity and water, as part of its strategy to enhance the productivity of its network and plants.”
H.E Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA
DEWA had announced a Dh72.5 billion five year capital outlay for power and water projects in 2007. Last month, in a first initiative of its kind, DEWA invited offers for advisory services for privatisation of power and desalination projects in the emirate. Al Tayer had mentioned that DEWA wants to encourage the private sector to engage in such strategic projects and to establish a business model which is competitive and incorporates the latest technology available to provide for the energy needs of Dubai in the future, set a business model with the participation of private sector and promote competitiveness by relying on the best available techniques, taking environmental considerations into account.
WETEX 2010 is also taking place in the midst of a gradual global recovery following the financial crisis of 2008-09, which had impacted Dubai’s economy too. To put fears about its finances to rest, DEWA had declared in December last year that its borrowings are guaranteed by Government of Dubai which owns and fully supports the Authority.
Al Tayer praised the extensive participation of government ministries, departments, institutions, municipalities, national and international corporations and public generic societies that are related to water, power and environment issues in the three day show. “Wetex is considered an ideal platform to present and discuss critical issues within the core current concerns which include power consumption rationalisation, protection of natural resources and sustainable development,” he said.
Companies from the private and public sectors participating in the show comes from USA, Switzerland, China, KSA, France, Korea, Germany, India, UK, Jordan, Japan, Croatia, Norway, Austria, Italy, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Egypt, Malaysia and Brazil. Also, there will be national pavilions from USA, European Union, Italy, China and Taiwan. “International companies will be displaying latest technologies and solutions used to conserve electricity and water where he emphasized that this show is the ideal place to promote these technologies and solutions to the related bodies,” said Al Tayer.
Along the exhibition, a series of symposia and lectures will be held to cover several critical issues in areas of water, electricity and power as well as new developments in these fields which will help visitors, engineers and technicians from various government and private sectors in UAE and GCC to update themselves on the latest techniques pertaining to these areas. The symposia will discuss issues on global warming and the latest practices on environment protection. Incidentally, in November 2009, DEWA had signed a MoU with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to establish the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE) as a Public Private Partnership (PPP). The DCCE will open its doors to both public and private entities in the first Quarter of 2010, and act as a one-stop-shop for carbon abatement strategies.
DEWA will be signing a series of contracts for mega projects at the 12th Water Technology, Energy and Environment Exhibition 2010.
DEWA is hosting WETEX workshops to help senior management executives in the water, energy and environment sectors meet renowned industry experts, discuss and debate key issues, including green building and environmentallyfriendly technologies, renewable energy, wastewater reuse and the future of the industry in the Middle East region.
DEWA also has dedicated national pavilions for green buildings systems and electricity and water conservation which will give specialists in this field an ideal opportunity to benefit from best of breed technologies for their projects and facilities. Al Tayer added: “The show is held under the of H. H. Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE & Ruler of Dubai where His Highness has always stressed the importance of conserving the energy resources of the Emirate for sustainable development. This goal cannot be achieved unless all community segments adopt the principles of energy conservation as their core values so that future generations will gain the maximum benefit.”
The main sponsors of WETEX 2010 are Gulf Eternit Industries; Siemens – Sector Energy; Riyadh Cables Group of Companies; Eagle Electromechanical; Ducab; ABB; Areva T&D; ETA Ascon Star – Zenath Group; Ghantoot Gulf Contracting Dubai and Emirates Electrical Engineering. The co-sponsors are Sunten Electric Co; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Hyosung Corporation; Green Oasis Contracting; Nexans Middle East; Iljin Electric and Tesar.
At the end of 2008, DEWA’s power generation capacity stood at 6,676MW; the peak load was equal to 5,287MW in 2008 with a surplus margin equal to 1,389MW and a reserve margin exceeding 26% of electricity required during the peak demand. The power production target for 2009 is 7,287MW.
On the water front, DEWA’s capacity stood at 278MIGD. The peak demand was 264 MIGD, with surplus reserve margin of 14MIGD. The production capacity for water is expected to touch 333MIGD by the end of 2009.
