Page 16 - DIVA_4_2009

Interview with His Excellency

Fahmi Bin Ali Aijowder, Minister in Charge of The

Electricity and Water Authority,
Kingdom of Bahrain

We hear a lot in the news strategic direction, especially
about the Gulf countries, now that the Government has
but most of us do not begun to invest in different
know very much about projects to make it usable for
this part of the world. landscaping, plantations, etc.
One of the Gulf countries
many
How
is the relatively small 0:
island State of Bahrain, a desalination plants do
former British colony you have?
that became indepen-
dent in 1970. It is a We have four and the private
modern and liberal sector is building another one.
country, which is now The new one is being built by
aiming to become the a French company. We now
financial centre of the has been on implementing why we rely on desalination. have a total capacity of 140
with government projects in the
Middle Due to the expansion of desa- million gallons of treated sea
East
appropriate laws and field of public works, housing lination facilities, we have water per day, and with the
infrastructure. The citi- and now electricity and water. witnessed a reduction in cost. new expansion we will reach
zens are known for their For the future we definitely around 200 million gallons.
honestly and hospitality. 0: When did you take up have to look into alternative
We had the opportunity your function
as
ways of producing fresh 0: What about the cost?
to meet with His minister? water, to become more effi-
Excellency cient in its use by integrating It varies from one project to
Fahmi
Aljowder who, despite I started on the 17 February other resources, reusing another, because it also
his young age, has been 2001 as Minister of Works, "grey" water for landscaping, depends on the age of the
a minister for more than and then in November 2002 I irrigation and industrial pur- plant and whether it's opera-
eight years. He has,zho- became the Minister of Works poses, etc. If we do not do ted by the government or the
wever, remained a and Housing. In December that, and even though we can private sector. We have pulled
modest, generous and 2007 the Ministry of Works treat seawater and make it out; we now own only about
humble man despite his and Housing split again, and I usable, the present expansion 30% of the total water registe-
illustrious position. He was placed in charge of the will probably become unsus- red, the rest is in the private
has a genuine commit- Ministry of Works, Electricity tainable. It is quite a challenge sector. This process is expen-
ment to make life better and Water Authority. for us. Our region is conside- sive to an extent, but it is the
for other people. So, red to have one of the most only way that we can obtain
leaving the floor to His 0: What is the water aggressive climates in the fresh water. Through recently
Excellency supply situation in world -- due to the heat and established committees, we
Bahrain? Does it, like the lack of natural water are exploring other avenues to
0: Your Excellency, what most Arab countries, resources. reduce the cost.
is your background? lack water?
That is the reason why we 0: Have you developed
I am a civil engineer by No, not at all because we rely have embarked in a new your own technology or
profession. I carried out my mostly on a desalination direction by reinstating the expertise in this field or
undergraduate training in process. You must realize that Water Resources Council. does it mainly come from
water and waste-water the Gulf States have been This board involves and abroad?
management, and my maste- fortunate. Most of the world- incorporates all the agencies
rs degree in construction and wide capacity in the field of responsible for water. It will We do have some expertise
facility management. Since desalination is located in the have a representative from the and technologies that are
1997 and even before that I Gulf area. More than 60% of Ministry of Works, the being used, and we have
have been managing projects. the world's total desalination Ministry of Principalities, the developed some good expe-
At first, I was working for the capacity is in this region. We Environmental Protection rience that is used in our orga-
armed forces and then for the do lack natural water resour- Agency and the Electricity nizations. We are trying to
Organization of the Youth ces like rivers, lakes and and Water Authority. Thus, add value to whatever is being
Transporters. Then I became a mountains where you can the future direction of water offered to us, but nothing has
minister. Most of my focus obtain fresh water, and that is supply in Bahrain can take a been done from scratch as
14 4 2009 Diva

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