If you have a lot of money and are unsure what to invest it in, do not hesitate anymore. The correct answer is water and water facilities. Over the following decades this resource which will become increasingly rare and valuable outpaces in demand even oil and gas. A sector will be attract nearly a trillion of U.S. dollars for the design and installation of equipment through which water is stored and led to the end consumers.
Problems and challenges in the water sector, which is also experiencing the effects of the global economic crisis were discussed during the last week at the Global Water Summit 2013 – the highest business conference for the water industry worldwide. The event brings together industry top leaders in both the private and the public sector, providing an unprecedented opportunity for the exchange of ideas for new projects. This year the event was held in the Spanish city of Seville, a special guest was former President of Mexico Vicente Fox. Bulgaria also had a representative – Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Dobromir Simidchiev.
The main focus of the Forum was on the water risk and its impact on industry and local governments. It will be a great hurdle, which the global economy will face over the next decade. The impact of climate change around the world is felt first in plumbing systems, which need a faster expansion because of accelerated urbanization. On the other hand, (as well as in Bulgaria) they require the provision of huge public funding for construction activities. The logic is everywhere the same – investment in water infrastructure leads to an increase in the price of the final service to be paid by all consumers.
Each of us in the next ten years will experience problem with water – shortages, flooding, aging infrastructure, disruption to business and the economy. This will give more impact on our lives than we ever imagined. But companies dealing with this type of business are also growing, so this conference needs to understand what we can learn from them, said at the opening one of the organizers of the Global Water Summit 2013 Christopher Gasol.
Particularly acute is the shortage of fresh water in many oil-rich Arab countries. And logically they are thrown in innovation. CEO of Bahrain’s state-owned electricity and water company Navaf Sheikh Bin Ibrahim Al – Khaifa stressed that his country is making a huge effort and puts a lot of money in this area, to match the increased consumption both in domestic and in industrial production.
In fact, over the years for such projects will be spent truly staggering amounts. According to a study presented at the forum, by 2018 capital expenditures of new plumbing equipment will exceed USD250 billion
Forecasts of the International Monetary Fund, say that in 2013 the growth of the global economy was 3.5% compared to 3.2 percent recorded a year earlier. Whilst we predict an increase in the capital cost of water facilities by 4.9% compared to 3.7 per percent in 2012, said Christopher Gasol.
But where comes this confidence from? In the same study the prospects for the development of water markets in 100 different countries have been analyzed in detail. Moreover, what has been taken into account were different aspects of their costs – Development of resources for water systems and canals, waste water treatment, etc.
Generally around 92% of the capital cost of water infrastructure are financed by public funds. But the economic crisis has now made it that investments generally are kept to a minimum. However, according to experts only in 2014 the investment to improve the condition of the wastewater will increase by 6.3 percent and return to the pre-stagnation level. By 2018, the United States is expected to invest over USD40 billion to improve its water supply. According to this indicator before them in the list is China with over USD50 billion. Then comes Japan with over USD20 billion, France with about 10 billion and just under USD10 billion is be to spent in Brazil, India, Australia and Germany.
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