Sept. 24, 2007 -- Dubai will host the IDA (International Desalination Association) World Congress on Desalination and Water Reuse 2009, under an agreement between Technopark, the science and technology facilitator of economic zones world, and the International Desalination Association last week.
IDA selected Technopark to host the event and Dubai as the venue over a number of global destinations, including Australia and China, at the IDA board meeting in Singapore on April 13 this year.
The purpose of the congress is to promote desalination and advanced water reuse technology by the exchange of information in through technical sessions, roundtable discussions, specialized workshops and an international exhibition.
Hamad Al Hashemi, managing director, Technopark said: "We are honored to have been chosen to host the IDA World Congress on the subject. Being selected over global technology leaders such as China and Australia speaks volumes of the potential IDA sees in Dubai and Technopark as leaders of advancement in finding alternative water resources.
"With more than 60 per cent of the world's desalination plants operating in the Middle East, and the Arab world expected to invest more than $30 billion in desalination projects by 2015, the industry is poised for astronomical growth. Advancement in desalination and water technology is one of the core objectives of Technopark, and as such, it is the ideal base of operations for the industry, not only in the middle east, but throughout the world," Al Hashemi added.
Lisa Henthorne, vice president and global director of desalination technology firm CH2M Hill, headed the selection committee that forwarded its recommendations to the IDA board.
Henthorne said: "Among the proposals received and studied by the committee, Technopark's proposal showed the highest level of interest and commitment from the beginning. Although there was close competition between the candidates, the phenomenal growth witnessed by Dubai, and the leading and mature technologies present at Technopark made it the obvious global choice for holding the congress."
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Also see:
-- "Dubai to host congress on water desalination"
-- "Dubai to Host the Combined Middle East Waste and Water Congress"
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