JEDDAH – Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Chairman and CEO Geewon Park held a ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh last Saturday to celebrate the opening of its Water R&D Center in Saudi Arabia. The opening ceremony was attended by around a hundred people including prominent figures such as Saudi Arabia's Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al-Hussayen, and Governor of Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC). Dr. Abdul Rahman M. Al-Ibrahim, as well as Korean Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Jong-yong Kim, President and COO of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Keysun Han, and Executive Vice President of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction's Water Business Group Seokwon Yun. Doosan has been actively engaged in carrying out various research activities through its Water R&D centers in Dubai and Tampa, Florida, US. Currently, the company is operating a total of four Water R&D centers worldwide, including one center in Korea. This new addition, which is located in Dammam, will play a central role within the global network of Doosan's Water R&D centers, particularly in acquiring the core competitiveness needed for the wide portfolio of water businesses Doosan is pursuing. The R&D Center in Dammam will be working together with leading local R&D institutes and universities on developing water solutions that are based on energy-efficient and eco-friendly technologies. Furthermore, by swiftly supplying any technological assistance needed to the local projects that the company is currently carrying out in the Middle East, the company expects it will be able to deliver greater customer satisfaction. Doosans Water R&D centers are currently working on the development of core technologies needed for seawater desalination as well as technologies applicable to water treatment systems. The Water R&D Center in Dammam will be focusing on the development of core technologies needed in the evaporation and hybrid desalination processes. Seokwon Yun, who heads the companys Water Business Group, said“by establishing a Doosan Water R&D center in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest desalination market, and collaborating with SWCC, our major client, on the development of technology, we expect to be able to contribute much more actively to the advancement of the water industry as a whole.” Doosan's future plans include not only research and development of next generation desalination technology but also include leveraging the experience and know-how of the recently acquired Doosan Enpure, a water/wastewater treatment engineering company in the United Kingdom, and engaging actively in the plant operation and management field, all of which will be part of its efforts to expand its coverage in the water business and solidify its number one position in the global desalination market. — SG