Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has received in his office, Cecile Jodogne, Secretary of State for Foreign Trade and Investment for the Brussels-Capital Region and Minister of the French Community Commission in Charge of Civil Service and Health Policy, who headed a delegation representing leading Belgian energy companies.
The delegation included Gauthier Lejeune, Foreign Trade Advisor for the Foreign Trade and Investment Minister for the Brussels-Capital Region, Bernard Gilliot, Executive Vice President of Tractebel Engineering, Manuel Colcombet, Vice President of GDF Suez, Yves De Smaele, External Sales Consultant at Deployments Factory, Thibaut De Vylder, CEO of Deployments Factory, Didier Wiot, Chief Solutions and Services Officer at Elia Grid International, and Berger Markus, CEO of Elia Grid International.
Cecile Jodogne’s and the Belgian delegation’s visit is part of an official visit by HRH Princess Astrid, representative of His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium, who is heading a delegation of ministers and representatives of leading Belgian companies, to discuss cooperation between Belgium and the UAE, and promote bilateral relations between the two countries.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources, Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, and Ahmed Abdullah, Senior Manager of External Communications at DEWA.
Al Tayer welcomed the delegation and emphasised the importance of strengthening cooperation with Belgian organisations and companies. He invited Belgian companies to take part in DEWA’s initiatives, projects, and investment opportunities. The Belgian delegation expressed their interest to collaborate with DEWA, especially in clean energy projects, and to exchange experiences, knowledge, and technologies to contribute to the sustainable growth of Dubai.
Al Tayer highlighted DEWA’s contribution, as a government organisation, to Dubai’s success story by improving electricity and water services to advanced levels that have enhanced its competitiveness. This was underlined by DEWA’s global results in efficiency and reliability. DEWA’s installed capacity is 9,700MW of electricity and 470 MIGD of desalinated water daily.
Al Tayer briefed the visitors on DEWA’s latest projects and achievements locally and globally, including the expansion of the power and water desalination plant at M-Station, the Hassyan clean-coal power plant, and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is one of the largest renewable energy projects in the region. The 13MW first phase became operational in 2013. The consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s ACWA and Spain’s TSK was selected to implement the 200MW second phase of the Solar Park, which will be operational by 2017. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is one of the largest strategic renewable energy projects in the world that is based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.
Al Tayer invited Belgian companies to participate in the Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) 2015, which will be held from 21-23 April 2015 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. WETEX, whose theme is At the Forefront of Sustainability, is held in conjunction with the second World Green Economy Summit. Al Tayer confirmed that WETEX has established its position as an ideal platform to showcase and discuss important topics including water, energy, natural resource protection, and sustainable development.
At the end of the visit, Cecile Jodogne and the Belgian delegation thanked Al Tayer for the effort to create cooperation and strong partnerships with energy Belgian organisations and companies.