New power, water and energy projects valued at USD 180 billion are planned in the Middle East as the UAE forges ahead with 20 projects worth USD 34.2 billion.
The organizers of an upcoming energy event in Dubai said that featuring more than 1,000 exhibitors, Middle East Electricity will take place from February 7th to 9th 2012 at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre.
Ms Anita Mathews exhibition director of Middle East Electricity said that “According to the World Energy Council, the GCC will require 100 GW of additional power over the next 10 years to meet growing demand. The power sector will require USD 50 billion worth of investments in new power generating capacity and USD 20 billion in desalination.”
Ms Mathews said that “In response, new contractor awards in the power, water and renewable energy sectors are being announced every month in the Middle East, as seen in December last year, when six new contractor awards were announced in Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq, valued at USD 1.5 billion while in January this year, 5 new contractor awards worth USD 130 million were announced in UAE, Kuwait and Oman.”
She said that this too is reflected in exhibitor space occupied at Middle East Electricity 2012 which has exceeded last year’s occupied space by 15%. We have also seen growth in exhibitor numbers and expect more than 15,000 unique visitors to attend the 3 day event.
Spearheaded by the USD 20 billion Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi which began construction late in 2011, the UAE will be one of the most active markets in the power, water and energy sectors over the next 2 years, at a time when power demand across all GCC countries is expected to grow 8% to10% annually.
Saudi Arabia holds the lion’s share of investment value in the region, due to the USD 100 billion King Abdullah City of Atomic and Renewable Energy which begins construction in 2013. The Kingdom also has a further 15 projects worth nearly USD 9 billion currently underway or due to begin in 2012.
Qatar recently announced plans to build at least 8 power and water facilities worth USD 4.8 billion in the next 3 years including the USD 3 billion Qatar Facility D power project which is slated to have construction started on in 2012.
Meanwhile, Bahrain has four projects currently ongoing worth USD 4.2 billion; Kuwait has 17 projects valued at USD 4 billion while Oman has put aside USD 2.9 billion for 13 new power, water and energy projects which will begin construction in 2012.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, Jordan has nine projects predominantly in the water sector worth USD 6.1 billion set to begin construction in 2012, while Morocco looks to make the most of its natural abundance of wind resources, earmarking USD 3.8 billion worth of renewable energy projects over the next two years.
(Sourced from Trade Arabia)
