24/04/2009

China Water Desalination Market Offers Opportunities Despite the Global Economic Downturn

Shanghai, China, April 24, 2009 – According to the National Sea Water Utilization Special Program, China’s need for desalinated water will almost treble over the next 10 years, creating huge opportunities for desalination companies operating in China. Privatization of China’s water sector will give a further boost to the local industry.

Speaking at the China Water Congress which was held in Tianjin from April 23-24, Paul Bai, CEO for Aqualyng in China, the Dubai-headquartered global desalination company, said privatization will drive competition and introduce advanced technologies. “China’s desalination market is less affected than others by the global downturn,” he explained, citing government forecast that national requirements for desalinated water will reach 1-million tons a day next year, growing to 3-million tons by 2020.
“Global Water Intelligence predicts that additional capacity will be required sooner than the official estimates suggest, given the current water scarcity, the extent of water pollution, and increasing demands on water resources as a result of the national economic development, especially industries in coastal areas.”
Public-private partnerships are high on the agenda of the China Water Congress. “Although privatization is still at its preliminary stage of development in China, the development of a win-win PPP model for the desalination industry will rely on continuous strong support from the Chinese government in terms of policy, investment, and infrastructure,” said Bai. “There are huge opportunities for private industry to participate in BOO (Build Own Operate) or BOT (Build Operate Transfer) models to meet the current and future desalination needs.”

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