The Arab world’s socio-economic landscape has been shaped, in modern times, by the discovery of oil. While revenues from oil & gas continue to play a key role in shaping the economic outlook of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) nations, the importance of water cannot be overstated. Securing a reliable and sustainable water supply will be critical to the overall stability and well-being of the GCC states.
The availability of water resources is critically linked to food security, energy, climate change and overall security, according to experts. A recent report by UK-based corporate risk intelligence firm, Maplecroft, states that the Middle East and North African (MENA) economies perform poorly in an index that rates the supply of fresh water to societies and businesses. All the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) nations have been ranked as ‘high risk’ by the index. This warrants an immediate call to action for water conservation and focused investments to boost water reuse. Joseph Anis, GE Energy’s president for the Middle East, said: “Over the years, GE has been investing in advanced technologies and solutions that address the dynamic regional water challenges. As a leader in advanced water technology, GE’s water business solution offers a comprehensive portfolio of global expertise and local capabilities that leverage the best practices of ecomagination. We are committed to help fuel the region’s continued growth by achieving a reliable and sustainable water supply.” GE has been proactive in key partnerships that promotes water reuse while enhancing customer use efficiency. They include: - GE is the preferred provider of water and wastewater treatment systems for Jebel Ali Free Zone’s Palm Water utility project. This partnership with Palm Water also called for the long-term operations and maintenance of the $550 million project. - Achieving another milestone, GE Energy helped dedicate the world's largest membrane-based wastewater filtration project in Kuwait. - Responding to the key challenges of the rapid deployment of onsite water treatment systems, and wastewater management, GE is providing a fleet of mobile water treatment systems to Al Tamimi Group in Saudi Arabia. Among other things, this mobile water technology provides treatment for seawater and brackish water and can be deployed in as little as 72 hours. More than 60 units are currently in operation and each unit is capable of treating up to 1,500 cubic meters of water daily. - To conserve precious potable water resource and promote the use of wastewater for industrial purposes, GE built a new 7,500 sq m chemical blending plant for water treatment chemicals in Dammam. The second of GE’s water facilities in the Gulf, the GE Saudi Water & Process Technology Center offers advanced water, water reuse, wastewater and process solutions to local and regional customers.
- To help ease the pressure on water supplies, GE is providing the International Medical Centre, Jeddah (a 300-bed healthcare facility) an advanced onsite wastewater treatment system that recycles up to 250 cubic metres of wastewater per day. In Qatar, GE joined hands with ConocoPhillips and opened the Global Water Sustainability Center (GWSC). The GWSC will work towards the research and development of innovative solutions primarily for and petrochemical sectors, and will also focus on municipal and agricultural solutions. Building on an active presence in the region that spans 80 years, GE offers ta broad portfolio of advanced water and process technologies. Coupled with local knowledge, GE believes in an integrated approach to water resource management to meet the growing GCC economies as well as to conserve prevailing sources of ‘Blue Gold’ for future generations.
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