JEDDAH, 29 August 2005 — The detailed plans for Jeddah’s first Forum for Water and Power were unveiled at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday. Dr. Adil Bushnak, chairman of the Bushnak Group, together with Mohammed Al-Sharif, secretary-general of the JCCI, explained the theme of the forum.

The establishment of the forum follows the Kingdom’s moves toward the privatization of power and water and the main focus will, at this first conference, be the opportunities for investment in the development of the desalination and electricity production capabilities of Saudi Arabia and the region.

“The main objective of the forum,” said Dr. Bushnak, “is to promote the Kingdom in general and Jeddah in particular as the power and water technology gateways to the Middle East.”

Dr. Bushnak, who is chairman of the conference’s steering committee added, “In later conferences, we will develop further the themes of technology and alternative energy sources and the reduction of carbon. Two-thirds of the Kingdom’s energy is supplied by gas, and investors do not yet see pollution as a major problem.”

He explained that saving water and waste water disposal were important topics for future discussions. The topics are of particular interest to Saudi Arabia as withdrawal from aquifers far exceeds re-charge rate and especially as 37 percent of wastewater supply is collected and yet only 16 percent is re-used.

For the JCCI, Al-Sharif said that he was keen to address the challenges of water and power, not simply on a city- wide basis but also nationally and regionally. He indicated that the forum had the full support of JCCI and looked forward to Jeddah’s becoming an international center of excellence for skills and knowledge in addressing water problems.

JCCI, he said, was a vital partner in the development of the water and power infrastructure in the Kingdom as it was ideally positioned to address the interests of the private sector. The JCCI has been active in issuing invitations to water specialists all over the world. Over 7,000 invitations were sent out and Al-Sharif said he expected at least 200 local and 200 international delegates to attend the conference and make contributions. “The media,” said Dr. Bushnak, “played an important role in the strategic program of water awareness.”

He hoped that Jeddah would become a knowledge center for the water industry and confided that it was his dream that “Saudi Arabia should become a leader in renewable and most importantly, sustainable water resources.”

The development of the infrastructure for desalinated water supply and distribution will involve massive capital investment. However, Dr. Bushnak was optimistic about the necessary financing for both current and future phases.

“We don’t need development banks,” he said, “as the government has guaranteed payments. Local Saudi investment is enough.”

He indicated that possible financial solutions would include the issuance of “water bond” and “water shares.” He was sure that innovative ideas for new financial options would arise at the forum.

In the first phase of development of the planned infrastructure, four companies will provide facilities for the production of power and water; the government will have a 40 percent stake in each. They will initially supply power to a government-owned company which will distribute through the private sector. Already an agreement for a feasibility study to ascertain the exact mechanism for distribution and equity of competition has been signed.

The forum will run from Nov. 12 to 14, and already has an extensive list of confirmed specialist speakers to lead the technical session.