Aqualia has been prominently present at the Water Business Forum held at the Expo Dubai on World Water Day (3/22). The event, organised by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and for which Aqualia worked together with ICEX and the commercial office of the Spanish Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was attended by senior water management representatives from numerous countries and executives from private companies such as Pepsico, Jacobs and Siemens.
Eva Martínez, head of the Intelligent Services area of Aqualia's Innovation and Technology department, shared a panel at the congress with José Luis Acero, the Colombian Vice-Minister of Water and Sanitation, and both discussed the near future of water management in the smart city environment. On the other hand, Víctor Monsalvo, head of the Eco-efficiency area in Aqualia's Innovation and Technology department, presented the company's most advanced technologies for obtaining water resources through efficient desalination.
On the occasion of this conference and Aqualia's collaboration with the Spain Pavilion at Expo Dubai, a business meeting was also held between Aqualia's delegates in MENA and the main clients in the region, such as Majis Industrial Services (Oman) and Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company -ADSSC- (UAE).
The only Spanish water management company at the Expo Dubai
Aqualia was the only water management company to participate in the Spain Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai, which was held from last October until March this year. Under the slogan "Intelligence for life", the Spanish pavilion has shown the best of our country with sustainability as a central theme.
Aqualia and the public company Acción Cultural Española, which belongs to the Sport and Culture Ministry, have formed an alliance with the aim of showcasing the high level of technological development and sustainability of Spanish companies. The MIDES project, led by Aqualia, was one of the protagonists in the Forest of Intelligence, the pavilion's exhibition area dedicated to the most cutting-edge Spanish technologies.
Aqualia was the only water management company to participate in the Spain Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai
On the other hand, because of the collaboration between Aqualia and Acción Cultural Española, the Spanish Pavilion has a car that has been used as an official vehicle inside the venue. The vehicle is equivalent to those that Aqualia uses daily in its operations, and which run on the biogas generated in the wastewater treatment plants from wastewater. The use of this fuel generates 80% less CO2 emissions than a petrol-powered vehicle.
Aqualia was one of the companies invited to the business forum organised by ICEX, the Commercial Office of the Spanish Embassy in the United Arab Emirates and the Chamber of Commerce on Spain Day at Expo Dubai on 2nd February. The company participated in the business forum with the intervention of its country manager in Egypt, Ignacio de la Quintana, in the panel "Present business opportunities and references to Spanish projects in the UAE. Water, Infrastructure and Sustainability", which was introduced by the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto; and his Emirati counterpart Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi. The business circle was followed by a meeting in the Spanish Pavilion between the Spanish President and the pavilion's collaborators.
A strong presence in the Middle East
Aqualia is firmly established in this geographical area, where it has been committed to efficient water management for years, contributing to transforming and modernising the management of the water cycle in these countries, where it already provides service to more than six and a half million people.
It entered the region in 2011 with a contract in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, to develop the project to optimise the city's water supply network. Since then, the company has been awarded contracts in different cities in the Kingdom such as Jizán, Jeddah and Rabigh, and has expanded its presence to other Middle Eastern countries such as Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Aqualia's latest contract in the region was recently awarded in the four southern regions of Saudi Arabia, where the company will manage the end-to-end water cycle for seven years for a population of more than five million inhabitants and an area equivalent to half the size of Spain. This contract is part of the Saudi Arabian authorities' strategy to move towards more efficient and sustainable water management in the country.
