Average annual increase in demand for desalinated water hits 6% in Arab World

The company, which has been widely known for its cost-effective and environmentally friendly technologies, referred to the Water Investment World Middle East 2009 report, which revealed that the average increase in regional demand for desalinated water is at 6%, 3% higher than the global average.

Palm Water particularly called on real estate developers, government policy makers, local and regional authorities, corporate establishments and master developers to strongly commit to the creation of more efficient approaches to meet water requirements across the Arab World.

"The MENA region maintains the lowest actual renewable water resources per capita in the world. It is thus imperative that Middle Eastern governments invest in technologies that can ensure adequate supply for the region's vibrant industries and its more than 300m inhabitants. Palm Utilities fully understands the gravity of the water issue and thus strongly supports initiatives to secure sustained availability throughout the region. Our company is constantly developing better and more viable methods, technologies and facilities to optimize water use in both the industrial and residential sectors,"

said Dr. Mahmoud Al Hindi, Executive Director Projects, Palm Water.

The Water Investment report adds that 40% of desalinated water demand in the Middle East comes from the industrial and municipal sectors. In the UAE, around 70% or about 24m cubic meters per day of the UAE's water comes from desalination plants. Dubai alone has an installed desalination capacity of 188m gallons per day (MIGD), with a total production of 58.8 MIGD.

Saudi Arabia is presently the world's largest producer of desalinated water, handling 30% of global production. The 30 desalination plants in the country pump almost 600m gallons per day, meeting 70% of domestic drinking water needs. The Kingdom requires $53bn to increase its desalination capacity to 10.7m cubic meters per day in order to meet the projected demand by 2020.

Palm Water highlighted the immediate need to establish a major regional program for wastewater treatment and reuse that would ensure optimal management of scarce water resources to meet spiraling demand. It also emphasized that only unified efforts among governments, private organizations and the general public could ensure the success of such a program.

Palm Water has emerged as a leading advocate of water conservation and natural resource sustainability has been responsible for some of the most prestigious, eco-friendly projects in the Middle East. With our unrivalled track record of on-time delivery and operational reliability, Palm Water's projects have been recognized to be exclusive benchmarks of quality and excellence in the region.

"We adapt conservation, resource optimization and environmental sustainability, a fundamental component of our corporate culture," said Dr. Imad Haffar, Managing Director of Palm Water.

Palm Utilities (PU) was established to address the region's unique requirements in the distinctly critical areas of district cooling, and wastewater treatment through its Palm District Cooling and Palm Water subsidiaries. PU is eyeing possible joint ventures into other utility projects in the Middle East, India and Asia as part of its 2009 growth strategy.