Seawater desalination Oman's answer to water scarcity?

Oman Wednesday 20/September/2017 21:35 PM
By: Times News Service
Seawater desalination Oman's answer to water scarcity?

Muscat: Oman's push for a sustainable fresh water supply will get a boost after the Middle East Desalination Research Centre (MEDRC) and the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement (KAIA) signed an agreement to focus on solutions to fresh water scarcity.
Under the agreement, both parties will exchange knowledge in the field of water resources management, with particular emphasis on seawater desalination technology, imperative in finding solutions to fresh water scarcity.
The Korean delegation, consisting of high profile officials from the government, are visiting Oman to develop several areas including developing desalination technologies in the Sultanate.
According to studies, the GCC region is one of the highest per capita users of water in the world. The majority of this water goes into agriculture. Experts have said that to cope with water scarcity in the future, GCC countries will have to invest millions of dollars to keep up with rising demand while developing new technologies to address water scarcity issues that will be prevalent in the region by 2050.
The agreement recognises common areas of interest between both parties and the potential that exists for mutually beneficial future collaborations. KAIA are a quasi-government organisation managing research programmes for the Korean ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport while MEDRC Water Research are an NGO headquartered in Muscat and mandated to work towards finding solutions to fresh water scarcity in the Middle East.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by MEDRC Water Research Centre Director, His Excellency Ciarán Ó Cuinn, and Dr. Byung-Soo Kim, President of KAIA in the presence of distinguished guests His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Mohammed Al Hassan, Acting Undersecretary for Diplomatic Affairs (MOFA) and His Excellency Son Byeong-Seok, Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) Republic of Korea.