UK-based Contec Global has signed a partnership with the India’s Maithri Aquatech in a bid to deliver $200 million in projects that will address water scarcity in the Middle East.
The inadequate supply of water and sanitation costs the region around $21 billion annually in economic losses, a 2017 report from the UN found.
Over the next three to five years the two companies will “work together to provide safe, potable, clean water on a sustainable basis,” a press release from Contec Global said.
Primarily, the deal will aim to deliver a business of over AED 735 million (US$200 million) in atmospheric water generator (AWG) solutions. AWG is a process in which drinking water can be extracted from air humidity.
Maithri’s Aquatech’s air-to-water technology has been deployed already by governments –including India’s Ministry of Water – NGOs and private sector leaders, and Contec Global says that they are strengthening their Middle East footprint through the new partnership with the regional company.
Water security is a major issue in the Middle East where average water availability per person is only 1,200 cubic meters a year, compared to 7,000 cubic meters per year in other regions.
“Contec and Maithri also see the AWG solutions as a good fit to the clean energy agenda of the region, where electricity and water production are closely related,” the press release said.
Dr. Benoy Berry, Chairman of Contec Global.
The six biggest users of desalination – including the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, used about 10 percent of their primary energy from oil and gas for desalination. In MENA, desalination plants produce 48 percent of the world’s total desalinated water, and as these plants are largely operated on oil, there is increased stress on hydrocarbon use, adding to the large carbon footprint.
“The Contec Global – Maithri Aquatech alliance is a sustainability improvement opportunity for both our companies. By providing our solutions through Contec Global’s established distribution system in the Middle East, it will help transform governments, corporates, communities, and others from being net consumers of water to becoming net producers of water, on a sustainable basis,” said Dr Benoy Berry, Chairman of Contec Global.
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