Siemens Water Technologies expands presence in Middle East

ERLANGEN, Germany, Feb. 29, 2008 -- With the formation of a new competence center in Abu Dhabi and in Riyadh, Siemens Water Technologies (SWT) is expanding its presence in the Middle East.

"The growing need for water in the cities as well as increasing demand in industry, including more stringent environmental requirements for industries such as oil & gas, require new measures for water and wastewater treatment in this region", explained Roland Fischer, who is responsible for SWT business development in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Siemens will consolidate its presence in the region and expand its range of water and waste treatment services and solutions through investments of around 10 million US dollars, expanded employment of around 30 new process and application engineers, and chemists by 2010, and use of local Siemens manufacturing facilities.

"Due to the expansion of cities and economic growth, the requirements for the supply of clean drinking water and sufficient wastewater treatment are increasing", stressed Fischer. He foresees a rising demand for Siemens technologies in the areas of industrial process water treatment, membrane filtration systems, disinfection equipment, advanced industrial wastewater treatment, biological wastewater purification with membrane reactors, and primary-sludge treatment. For instance, Siemens was recently awarded a contract to provide a high-performance nutrient removal system for the 180 mld (47.5 mgd) Kubd wastewater treatment plant located outside of Kuwait City, Kuwait. The solution, which is based on Siemens' new biological process optimization program -- BioFlowsheet Solutions, will help the wastewater treatment plant meet required effluent levels. The 5.2 million euro ($7.4m) plant will be commissioned in 2010.

Successful projects, above all in the area of water in the oil and gas industries as well as in communities, are a good basis for further expansions.

"Another area which will become increasingly important is the transport and distribution of water", emphasized Fischer. He bases his opinion on the experience gained by Siemens in the supply of equipment for pipeline systems and the associated pump stations and the provision of leak-detection devices and automation solutions for fault-free operation according to needs in Arab and north-African countries. For instance, on 15 November 2007, Siemens got the go-ahead for the Shuqaiq Water Transmission System contract. The project involves supplying populated areas with drinking water from the Shuqaiq desalination plant on Saudi Arabia's south-west coast. No less than 900 km of pipelines and 8 pumping stations will channel the water to Saudi Arabian homes at a rate of 400,000 m³/day.

"With our solutions, systems and products, we can help communities and industry to better manage the use of our natural water resources, which is becoming increasing important in this arid region. And by treating wastewater for reuse and recycle, technology will continue to be an enabling technology to support the water demands of the region for years to come."

The Siemens Industry Solutions Division (Erlangen, Germany) combined with Siemens VAI Metal Technologies (Linz, Austria), Siemens Water Technologies (Warrendale, Pennsylvania, USA), and Industry Technologies (Erlangen, Germany) is one of the world's leading suppliers of solutions and services for installations in the fields of industry and infrastructure.

###