As many as 500 Arab, Asian and Western delegates from across the world are set to attend the second Jeddah International Forum for Water and Power, which will be held in Saudi Arabia next month.

The 2006 forum will be held under the theme ‘New Investment Opportunities for Saudi and Foreign Businesses in Jeddah’ at the Jeddah Hilton from November 11 to 14.
It will feature an equal number of Saudi and foreign experts, with 35 speakers from nine countries presenting 16 working papers.
In addition, some 109 companies, manufacturers and institutions will also be showing off their products, services and experiences over an area of 2,800 sq m, with the aim of developing their business and professional relations within the vast Saudi market.
The forum will be patronised by the Governor of Makkah region, with support from the Saudi Ministry of Water and Electricity, the Saudi Electricity Company, and the National Institution for Water Desalination, among other important local and foreign public and business figures.
The Saudi Minister of Water and Energy will deliver the forum’s opening speech, while the working papers will be presented by experts such as Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki, as well as the president of the Saudi Water and Electricity Company, the governor of the Saudi Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), the governor of the Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority and the head of the Indian Association for Energy and Fuel Users, as well as a number of local and foreign public and business figures.
The forum’s sessions will focus on privatisation of the electricity sector, Saudi regulations in the sectors of water, sewage and electricity as well as international water and electricity projects. Other topics will include investment opportunities pertaining to the Saudi national water reserves, advanced technologies in the handling of water and electricity, partnerships between the public and private sectors, investments in various fields of electricity, and administrative requirements for water and electricity suppliers.
Participants will also discuss such topics as dual and self-contained electricity generation in seawater desalination plants, sewage systems, and treatment of foul water, electronic metering systems, automated distribution, humidity gauges, and business software solutions. Other topics will cover logistics and supply chains, pipes and other logistics, cable laying and technologies for peripheral power stations, pumping and filtration, digital electricity markets, telemetrics, power facilities, and telecommunication and construction systems.
The event will provide an opportunity for Saudi businessmen to get together with decision-makers in water and electricity sectors and provide a platform where manufacturers and suppliers can directly offer their products and services for new business deals to be made and existing agreements to be reinforced. It will also be an opportunity to strengthen commitment towards the market, and a place to showcase for new products and services, as well as a chance to see what competitors have to offer.
Demand for electric energy is growing in the kingdom at an annual rate of 5.5 per cent since the mid-1990s. Official statistics show that peak demand rose by 5.1 per cent during the same period, while the number of consumers inched up by an average 4.2 percent annually. Over the next two decades, investments of some $117 billion are needed to expand the sector, as well as some $100 billion in the water, water desalination and sewage sectors by 2025.