The 6th international water, electricity and power generation (WEPower) conference and exhibition of 2010 is going to start from June 6th to 8th at the Dhahran International Exhibition Center in Dammam . The conference, under the patronage of the Ministry of Water and Electricity, is fully supported by Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), National Water and Climate center (NWCC) and Electricity Cogeneration Regulatory Authority (ECRA). The conference will be officially inaugurated by Saleh Bin Hussein Al Awaji, Deputy Minister for Electricity. “The water and power industries are critical to the development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, catering to a population that has grown around 2.5 percent per year in recent years and is likely to continue expanding about 2 percent annually over the next decade,” said Alain Marhic, Managing Director WEPower. “Investment in water production and power generation are hugely important to the continued development of Saudi Arabia's industrial economy. WEPower conference will provide the perfect platform to discuss strategies to meet the growing rise in consumption across the Kingdom,” he explained. In the next 15 years, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Water and Electricity expects some SR300 billion will have to be invested in electricity generation, another SR200 billion into water desalination projects and SR200 billion in the sewerage sector. “In fact, Saudi Arabia requires investment estimated at a staggering $53 billion in water alone through to 2020. Meeting growing demand will depend on both local and foreign investment,” he said. He also said that clean water and efficient power generation is critical to the continued development of Saudi Arabia's industrial economy and WEPower is addressing both these issues with some of the most influential figures in the Kingdom. The WEPower exhibition will boast some of the biggest water and power providers from across the GCC region. It will also hold a series of technical workshops, offer visitors and delegates a chance to participate in highly interactive discussions on technical themes including multi-effect distillation, sustainability and optimizing the urban and industrial water cycle and power quality and system reliability.
