GE sponsors 2005 Jeddah Power and Water Forum

The event will be held from 12-14 November under the patronage of H.R.H. Prince Abdul Majeed Bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Makkah region. The forum is an important regional event, creating an excellent environment for the latest announcements from leading industry experts and governments.

Committed to partnering with regional governments to address future scarcity scenarios, GE executives Abdullah Taibah and Earl Jones will address top-level industry and government audiences, sharing their vision for sustainable development of the region's power and water resources.

Commenting on the support that GE has extended to the event, Abdullah Taibah, Region Executive & General Manager, Middle East and Africa, GE Energy, said:

"The 2005 Jeddah Water and Power Forum offers decision makers an opportunity to foster new relationships and to gain valuable information about activities within the Kingdom. GE is committed to implementing sustainable solutions to address power and water scarcity. We encourage discussion about important technologies in water and power production and offer recommendations for regional success."

Taibah added, "GE's diverse product and service base can be a key building block for sustainable infrastructure development and its pioneering hybrid technologies could reduce water and power generation costs. In addition, GE is the world leader in infrastructure technology, having developed some of the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly power plants. We pledge our commitment to regional partnerships aimed at making sustainable development ambitions a reality."

Earl Jones, Director, Water Scarcity Solutions, GE Water and Process technologies said: "GE is committed to investing in the long-term sustainable infrastructure that will be critical to the Middle East's growth. At a time when water and power scarcity have never been so important, GE is proud to be a sponsor of the 2005 Jeddah Water and looks forward to having a real discussion on how industries, like GE, and government can come together to best address the critical infrastructure issues facing the region."

Water and power are critical to securing sustainable growth in the region. Having recognized the threat of future scarcity, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) is committed to invest US$1 trillion in infrastructure, primarily in the oil and gas, water, power, health care and transportation sectors.

The Jeddah Water and Power Forum is taking place at the Jeddah Hilton Hotel and GE's exhibition stand is located at stand J12. The exhibition is open from 10am to 6pm.

The two-day conference and exhibition will be preceded by a number of country-specific technical seminars focused on Saudi Arabia, Japan and the UK. It will be followed by a two-day workshop on plant life extension and upgrade of water and power plants.