Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Planning (SCP), Sultan bin Salim Al Habsi, greets José Miguel Santos at the AqualiaMACE stand in the exhibition area. Photo credit: Aqualia
Hosted by the Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) in Mascate, the capital del Sultanate, from the 1st to 3rd of May 2017, the Oman Energy & Water Exhibition and Conference included the likes of AqualiaMACE, Aqualia’s joint venture with Emirate organisation MACE. Together, the companies were a key presence in both the exhibition area as well as the conferences held. More than ever, the third edition of the Oman Energy & Water Exhibition and Conference, with over 100 exhibitors and more than 50 speakers, served as an unbeatable, vital platform for all involved in the water industry, sharing information, addressing issues and finding solutions to meet the challenges power and water present in Oman to realise sustainable planning for the nation.
José Miguel Santos, Aqualia’s Country Manager in Oman, Qatar, and the UAE, gives a speech titled “Efficiency in the Operation and Maintenance of Water and Wastewater Facilities” on the first day of the conference. Photo credit: Aqualia
José Miguel Santos, Aqualia’s Country Manager in Oman, Qatar, and the UAE gave a speech titled “Efficiency in the Operation and Maintenance of Water and Wastewater Facilities” on the first day of the conference, dedicated to the “Planning, Operation and Maintenance for Power and Water”. Santos highlighted “the need to invest in preventative and predictive maintenance systems to extend the service life of assets and for the optimal operation of facilities to maximise equipment output and productivity.”
His speech drew on his experience as a manager gained at the extensive sewerage and treatment system in the Emirate city of Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), that consisted of 2,000km of systems, 69 pumping stations, and 14 treatment plants. He gave examples of modifications that could be used on processes and operating models for pumping systems that would also be able to optimise spending and cut costs, lowering power consumption without the need for key investments.
In the area set aside for exhibitions, AqualiaMACE had a major stand that also served as a meeting place for delegates and also offered an exceptional panorama of the organisation’s activities.
A strong presence in the Middle East
Aqualia also made its strong presence and positioning in the region known during the exposition. The Spanish-based company was the very first to secure a water management contract in the Middle East; a contract to carry out an innovative improvement plan in the distribution system for potable, drinking water that serves over six million residents in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia.
On top of that, Aqualia also runs treatment facilities in Hadda and Arana, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, treating an average flow of 250,000 cbm, and is also in charge of the sewerage and treatment system in the city of Al Ain, which operates and maintains a wastewater system that is more than 2,400 kilometres long, with 68 wastewater pumping stations and 19 treatment plants.
The contracts are joined by the adjudication for €300 million (US$327.9 million) to maintain the sewerage systems in Qatar for the coming decade. For the project, Aqualia and Hyundai will collaborate with each other,a nd includes the building of a treatment plant capable of managing an average flow of 56,200cbm per day, and will also serve 205,000 residents.
Aqualia, the first company based in Spain in its chosen sector, the third private water company in Europe, and the seventh in the world according to the latest ranking Global Water Intelligence (GWI) published, also manages FCC, one of the leading public water services in Europe, and serves 22.5 million people.
Presently, it serves 1,100 municipalities in 22 nations, including Montenegro, Uruguay, India, Ecuador, and Colombia. In 2016, the company reported a €1 billion (US$1.09 billion) turnover, with a business portfolio of more than €14.9 billion (US$16.29 billion).
