AGCC-wide water and power grid plans approved

The Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (AGCC) Electricity and Water Ministers, held in Qatar, approved the formation of an ad-hoc committee to follow up proposals for a feasibility study on the creation of AGCC-wide water and power networks.

The French company Sogreah will carry out the five-phase study within the next 14 months, and include analysis of cost effectiveness, data collection, and an investigation of the water resources available for developmental projects throughout the AGCC.

The US$ 1.3-million deal, to be funded by all the AGCC states, was signed by AGCC Secretary-General, Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al Attiyah, and Patric Dartoux, Sogreah's business development manager. Al Attiyah said that AGCC groundwater supplies are not diminishing; however in low-lying states, such as Qatar, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture put a close watch on the rate at which well water is drawn off to ensure that saline water is not drawn in to turn the wells brackish.