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Leading industry professionals from power and water industries of the Middle East attended the Power-Gen Middle East 2009 which took place at Bahrain International Exhibition Centre.
The event, under the patronage of the Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, was the region's premier conference and exhibition for the power generation, transmission and distribution and water industries.
It was opened by Works Minister and Minister in charge of the Electricity and Water Authority Fahmi Al Jowder at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.
PennWell Corporation conference director Nigel Blackaby said: "With demand levels for power and water rising steeply in the region and project financing availability contracting fast, there was some serious debate at Power-Gen Middle East about how the electricity and water sectors will 'keep pace with the Middle East's economic expansion' which was the theme of the event.
"Attendees at Power-Gen Middle East encountered a wealth of experience, many practical solutions and a great deal of state-of-the-art technology from the world's leading power engineering suppliers."
Around 100 exhibitors from over 30 countries took part in the exhibition.
"Electricity demand in the GCC has been growing at around eight to nine per cent a year, faster than the growth recorded in any other region of the world," said Mr Blackaby.
"All the GCC countries face the challenge of meeting the rising electricity needs of a rapidly expanding infrastructure and increasing amounts of energy-intensive industrial development," he said.
GCC countries will need to add 100 gigawatts (GW) of additional power over the next 10 years to support their fast growing economies.
"All the six GCC countries have committed $100 billion to the power sector and plans for added electricity infrastructure will require further investment," explained Mr Blackaby.
"There are key projects going forward in Bahrain such as Ad Dur Independent Water and Power Plant Project.
"These new project initiatives will require huge investments, will have to feature cutting-edge technology and may have implications for customer tariffs."
