Metito is to play a major role in a forthcoming two-day congress in Dubai to discuss the critical challenge of water sustainability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries.
Managing Director of Metito Fady Juez will make a presentation outlining the company's strategy to meet the sustainability challenge at the Middle East Infrastructure Congress (MEIDC) of which the company is a sponsor. Currently the MENA region is the driest part of the world with five percent of the global population but just one percent of the world's renewable water supplies.
Fady Juez will make his presentation during the Middle East Water Supply and Wastewater Summit element of the event. Chief Executive Officer of Metito Mutaz Ghandour, will also participate in a closed session with Government Ministers and company Chief Executives during the conference to debate infrastructure development strategies.
Commenting on Metito's involvement in the conference, Fady Juez said “There is no doubt that water sustainability is one of the biggest challenges facing the region in the coming decades.”
“We face the problems of the least rainfall in the world, a rapidly increasing population creating unprecedented demand for domestic and industrial use and an arid environment dominating the majority of the MENA region. This Congress is very timely and I hope will help to develop strategies and conclusions that will actively meet the challenges we face in the future,” he added.
He explains that to meet the challenge there must be increased awareness of conserving water resources and thereby reducing demand. This must happen in tandem with increased supply created by technical, legislative and financial means.
Water is currently used in three main sectors, agriculture using up 86 percent, industry five percent and domestic use nine percent. Juez argues that improvements can be made in the use of water in all three sectors to help increase supply at relatively low cost.
Metito has a three-point vision for meeting the challenge of water sustainability. Our vision is firstly that private sector partnership has become a must in order to improve the current situation to plan for the future. Secondly that non-conventional water should be adopted as a resource and finally that awareness and training should considered at both the technical as well as at the decision-making levels.”
He concluded that sustainability was an issue that concerned everyone in the region. Individuals, companies, corporations and Governments all have a major role to play in ensuring that the MENA region does have the water supply it requires in the future. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
