Saudi Arabia's aggressive energy-relative infrastructure investments, including the $300 million worth of projects that will link the new economic cities to the national power grid, have been attracting a lot of interests from investors and industry players. The Kingdom has earlier unveiled plans to build six independent power plants to increase production capacity, including a thermal plant at the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, with a capacity of 850 MW and a cost of $ 1.5 billion. Against this backdrop, Saudi Energy 2012 – the 15th International Show for Electricity, Lighting, Power Generation, Water Technology, and HVAC for Saudi Arabia, will be held on May 7-11, at the Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center in Riyadh. No less than 250 major companies from 13 countries have already confirmed their participation at the energy forum. The event is one of the largest and most specialized energy exhibitions in the region, comprising four concurrent events collectively referred to as "ELAW" (electricity, lighting, air conditioning, and water). Khaled Daou, Project Manager of Saudi Energy, Riyadh Exhibitions Company, said: "The participation of major suppliers, manufacturers and service providers from all over the world manifests the Kingdom's reputation as one of the world's most lucrative energy markets. Energy companies from all over the world understand the strategic importance of Saudi Energy as a unique platform that opens direct access to niche markets across the Kingdom. Moreover, Saudi Energy has been organized to boost the collaboration between the government and the private sector on strategies to address the growing local demand for energy. With the Kingdom undertaking massive industrial development, the electricity demand has been expected to reach up to 67,000 MW by 2020, and this represents a huge growth opportunity for local and international energy companies." Saudi Energy 2012 will reintroduce four of Saudi Arabia's top energy-related shows: Saudi Elenex 2012: The 15th International Electrical Engineering, Power Generation & Distribution Exhibition, to be held under the patronage of the Ministry of Water and Electricity; Saudi Luminex 2012: The 12th International Lighting Equipment Show; Saudi Aircon 2012: The 13th International Exhibition on Air-Conditioning Heating, Ventilation & Refrigeration; and Saudi Water Tech: The 9th International Exhibition for Water Technology. Saudi Energy is certified by the UFI – The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry – in recognition of its world-class activities prepared and managed under international standards.
