UAE's water and electricity sector to attract $9.5b investments

The water and electricity sector in the UAE is set to attract Dh35 billion ($9.5 billion) worth of investments over the next five years, prompting India's Elecrama, the largest electricity exhibition in the East, to attract power generating companies from here.

Citing a survey done by Emirates Bank International, Elecrama said that Dubai has the greatest demand for electricity in the UAE which is growing at 14 per cent per annum while Abu Dhabi's is expected to double over the six-year period between 2008 and 2013.

The UAE capacity for electricity would increase by 60 per cent to 26,000 megawatts in four years while its electricity demand would grow at an average annual rate of 10 per cent until 2010, it added. An exhibition of power, electrical, industrial electronics and related products, Elecrama stressed in a Press statement yesterday that the six-member GCC has the strongest energy generating markets in the world.
It said the exhibition in India, whose demand for electricity, electronic and related products is likewise skyrocketing due to high population growth and massive development projects, presents lucrative business opportunities for GCC power firms.

"Given this trend it is significant to note that many UAE companies have already confirmed participation at this year's event," the statement said referring to Elecrama 2008, which will be held in Mumbai on January 18.

Indian exports to the UAE involving the electrical and electronics industry have reached Dh430.4 million ($117.14 million) since last year, contributing a bulk of the electricity demand by Gulf Cooperation Council member states that is triple the global average. Elecrama has proposed a GCC-wide network of electricity, which it said would mean billions of dollars in savings due to production sharing, as member states would have an identical form of electricity.
"The grid will also enable energy exchange programmes between the GCC states and will play a major role in increasing productivity, diversifying economies and upgrade of systems," it stressed. Source