Almar Water Solutions participates in the ICEX Integra Programme in Dubai
Almar Water Solutions participated in the ICEX-Integra event “Water, Energy and Digitalization in the GCC Countries” organized by the Spanish public internationalization entity ICEX in the Hotel H in Dubai. The event consisted of a conference with presentations by the principal Spanish integrator companies with projects in the Gulf zone, followed by a networking event and B2B meetings between the integrators and the participating SMEs.
José Ignacio de la Fuente, Business Development Director for the Middle East, was the representative from Almar Water Solutions who participated in the water panel because of his extensive experience and knowledge of the water projects in the zone. José Ignacio debated on the factors to be taken into account when financing water infrastructure projects under public-private partnerships and how water and energy projects are proposed independently in the zone.
Almar Water Solutions, with offices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, is working intensely to cover the water needs of the Middle East, which has only 1% of the planet’s fresh water resources available to it. During the period 2005-2015, the annual availability of fresh water per capita in the region dropped by 20%, from 990 m3 to 800 m3.
As a result of this shortage, desalination has become one of the most important unconventional sources of water in the Middle East. The Arab region currently has more than half of the world’s desalination capacity and it has been estimated that by 2025, desalinated water will account for 8.5% of the total water supply in the region.
These conferences are part of the initiative by ICEX Integra aimed at increasing the participation of Spanish SMEs as suppliers in international projects that are being awarded and executed by large Spanish companies.