Or Pearl - Head of Trade at the Embassy of IsraelIsrael to share water knowledge with Africa"Israel understands the strategic importance of dealing with water challenges," says Or Pearl, Head of Trade at the Embassy of Israel. "Africa's challenges are no different and Israel sees Africa as a strategic market."
The country has ambitious plans to double its water technology exports to US$3-billion by 2012. Exported products and technologies will target the coal, copper and gold mining industry in Southern Africa, Brazil, Chile and Australia.
Israel has an impressive track record in water technology; the small Middle Eastern country is the world's number one water recycler, and home to the world's largest and most efficient reverse osmosis (RO) sea water desalination plant. And, Israel's average annual water consumption has remained the same since the 1960s despite a growing population, rising water demand and increased agricultural production.
"Israeli companies are actively pursuing a number of opportunities in Africa's water industry," adds Pearl. "These include such items as water leakage and security technologies, advanced wastewater treatment and desalination systems, new water production techniques, system integrators and equipment for large scale biological arrays low in capital, algae harvesting and processing, and allied machinery and filtration equipment."
According to Pearl, Israel is already involved in various projects throughout Africa, especially in the planning and design of large-scale turnkey projects in Angola, Botswana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and South Africa. These developments vary from large scale national water conveyers and desalination plants, to water leakage solutions, industrial water treatment plants and supplying potable water.
Pearl, who was present at WaterTec Africa 2009, will be present at WaterTec Africa 2011 and reaffirms the importance of this event: "I expect to meet industry leaders in the area of industrial water treatment and water utilities and expand our network in that field."
There is a growing demand in Africa for Israeli products. "The roll out of solar water heaters in Africa is making progress," adds Pearl. "The rebates offered by Eskom take into account the efficiency of the systems, which puts Israeli vendors on top of the list in South Africa." Another important area is water treatment solutions for Acid Mine Drainage in South Africa, especially RO desalination technologies. "This has major spill-over opportunities involving large scale desalination projects planned in South Africa and the rest of Africa."
