UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 30 April 2008 -- Last week, to coincide with the worldwide celebration of Earth Day, London served as the backdrop for the Global Water Intelligence (GWI) conference that was co-hosted with the International Desalination Association.  Over 300 persons were in attendance.  

Entitled “Water, Finance & Sustainability 2008: New Directions for a Thirsty Planet”, the 2-day program included keynote presentations from the CEO of Veolia Water (Antoine Frerot), the CEO/President of Siemens Water Technologies (Chuck Gordon), the CEO/President of Black & Veatch Water (Dan McCarthy), and the General Manager of Dow Water Solutions (Ian Barbour).

Attendees also heard notable presentations from Fred Pearce who is the author of “Water Footprints and Virtual Water: Steps Towards a Global Water Crisis” as well as Usha Rao-Monari, senior manager of the IFC’s Infrastructure Department.

The 2-day conference included three separate themed tracks: one focused on desalination that touched on the topics of desal financing models, investment opportunities, and environmental footprints; the second track focused on the BRIC nations and examples of water project opportunities as well as water company investment opportunities that can be found in these four rapidly expanding economies; and the third track focused on a variety of finance-related topics such as concession models, carbon credit financing, the credit crisis, and micro-finance as a strategic funding tool for the water/wastewater infrastructure and service sector.

The star attraction of the conference program was the awards dinner and presentation that was held at the historical opulent Banqueting House in Whitehall Palace built in 1622. 

Professor Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize Winner and the founder of Grameen Bank that pioneered the concept of microcredit, was the honored featured guest speaker. 

He reminded the audience of Grameen Bank’s commitment to the water sector given the critical role that clean water access plays when it comes to addressing health-related issues in developing countries. 

As part of his remarks, Professor Yunus highlighted the recent initiative set up by Grameen Bank and Veolia Water to implement tailored-made solutions in order to supply drinking water to the poorest communities in Bangladesh.

Eleven award categories were recognized during the presentation ceremony.  

The award recipients reflect the voting results cast by members of the International Private Water Association (IPWA), the International Desalination Association (IDA), and the American Membrane Technology Association (AMTA) as well as readers of Global Water Intelligence (GWI) and the Water Desalination Report (WDR).  

Select categories and winners are as follows:

Water Company of the Year

Winner: Veolia Water, the water services subsidiary of Veolia Environnement headquartered in France.  The company has enjoyed an amazing year across all divisions. It signed up new desalination capacity, saw major advances in the application of its technologies for the oil and gas industry, and expanded the number of operating contracts and agreements around the world including contracts in China and Saudi Arabia.

Distinction: CH2M Hill, a US-based employee-owned engineering company. The company’s engineering arms as well as their contract operations arm (CH2M Hill OMI) secured a number of projects in 2007 that included the waste system program management for the city of Chicago, a contamination warning system for the city of Glendale (Arizona), an advanced wastewater treatment plant in Australia, a SWRO desalination plant in Singapore, and an integrated wetlands treatment project in Italy.

Desalination Company of the Year

Winner: Doosan Hydro Technology, the membrane desalination arm of Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction. The company won three major deals in 2007 including the Shuwaikh SWRO plant in Kuwait and the wastewater RO plants in Luggage Point, Queensland.

Distinction: Aqualyng Holdings, a Norwegian desalination company that was founded by the Lyng Group and is now owned by Staur Holding, the Lyng Group, and Aqua Venture. In 2007, the company secured contracts in China, Pakistan, Oman, and Jeddah.

Water Project of the Year

Winner: Bundamba/Western Corridor Recycle Water Project Stage 1A is the first phase of a Queensland, Australia government project that will become the largest water recycled water scheme in the southern hemisphere.   The project was designed and constructed via an alliance formed between Black & Veatch and Thiess. The operating team consists of Veolia Water and Separation Process, Inc.

Distinction: Orange County Water District (California, USA) has implemented a ground water replenishment project. It involves purifying treated wastewater in which half the treated water is sent directly underground to provide a buffer in order to prevent saltwater intrusion while the other half is pumped to OCWD’s basins where it augments the groundwater supply.

Desalination Project of the Year:

Winner: Tampa Bay Water (Florida) which involved the re-commissioning of a 96,000 m3/d desalination plant followed by the technical difficulties with the original plant.  It involves a joint venture between Acciona Aqua and America Water who won the contract to fix and operate the plant.  It is the first large-scale SWRO in the US.

Distinction: Power Seraya (Singapore) which is a 10,000 m3/d seawater desalination plant co-located at the 3100 MW Pulau Seraya Power Station. The project marks the first time that a 16-inch diameter membrane system has been used on a large scale.

Environmental Contribution of the Year

Winner: NEWater, the reclaimed water brand of PUB, the Singapore national water agency.  While most of the output is directed towards industrial, some of the output is blended into the city’s reservoirs.  NEWater has become a leader when it comes to the concept of potable water reuse. And it tastes great.

Distinction: Aragon Wastewater Treatment Plan which involves a EUROS1.5 billion investment plant to build 132 wastewater treatment plans and install 41 sewers in the Aragon region of Spain in order to achieve the standard that is required by the European Wastewater Directive.

Public Water Agency of the Year

Winner: Orange County Water District (California, USA) is responsible for managing the groundwater supply for 20 cities and the water utilities in north and central Orange County, California. Last year, it completed its 265,000 m3/d groundwater replenishment system which is one of the biggest indirect potable reuse projects in the world. The agency has led the way in communicating the importance of water reuse to the public.

Distinction: ONEP in Morocco which is the strategic water agency and bulk water supplier for the country.  It has become one of the best run and most conscientious public water agencies in the region. Last year, it invested almost US$700 million in domestic water projects.

Bank of the Year:

Winner: JPMorgan, the investment banking division of JPMorgan Chase & Co., was involved in a variety of deals including the Greensands consortium that bought SouthernWater and the Cascal IPO on the New York Stock Exchange as well as a number of bond financings of water companies and projects.

Distinction: International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private finance division of the World Bank Group, provided both debt and equity financing resources to a number of water companies and projects including Manila Water, Hyfllux, and Veolia Water. It has re-established itself as a leading player in financing water companies and projects throughout the developing world.

Law Firm of the Year

Winner: Simmons & Simmons, a UK-headquartered international law firm with over 2000 people and 20 offices located in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. They have been very proactive in the Gulf region’s water & power market

Distinction: Pinsent Masons, a UK-headquartered international law firm with over 1600 people and offices in 14 different countries. It has established itself as a major player within the Gulf region’s water & power sector in addition to its recognized practice within the field of infrastructure law.

Labels: United Nations, U.N., MaximsNews WATER, water, Global Water Intelligence, GWI, International Desalination Association, award, IPWA, Muhammad Yunus, IFC, Veolia Water, Black & Veatch Water, Siemens Water Technologies, Dow Water Solutions, drinking water, environment, water news, water sustainability, water resource, water management, global water crisis, sustainable development, Kathy Shandling

 

Advertisement

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MaximsNews® LLC   NEWS NETWORK FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network that is read worldwide, in 195 countries and territories. It is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries. 

Established in 1999, MaximsNews now publishes in the six UN working languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.  

SEE:  About MaximsNews

The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews® LLC.

REACH THE WORLD'S MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE  

SEE: Advertise with MaximsNews | MaximsNews MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS      

MaximsNews.com U.N. ® LLC  www.MaximsNews.com | MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com | Please contact us about Republishing: Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 - 2008, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights reserved.