By Ramesh Mathew

Staff Reporter

 

Despite a significant growth in Qatar’s population, water consumption  in the country went up by only 7% during 2013 compared to the 10% increase in 2012, Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) president  Essa bin Hilal al-Kuwari told Gulf Times.

“This positive effect could be attributed to Kahramaa’s Tarsheed campaign to conserve water,” he explained on the sidelines of a press conference yesterday to announce the hosting of the second Arab Water Conference from May 27 to 29 this year in Doha.

Recalling that the Tarsheed campaign to rationalise water use among Qatar residents had been on since the summer of 2011, al-Kuwari said that efforts were still continuing to reduce  water consumption at all levels.

While the highest population figures of 2012 were 1,845,475, the maximum figures of 2013 were 2,068,050, showing more than 9 % rise in the total population. The latest figures, as of February 28 this year, showed the population at 2.16mn.

Replying to a question on nearly 400% rise in the country’s population and the rising demand for water, the Kahramaa president said that  the country now had an average daily consumption of between 325 to 330mn gallons of water and  capacities to generate additional drinking water to meet the growing requirements had been initiated all along.

“We are ready to meet the growing requirements of water in Qatar and steps have been initiated from time to time. Now the Qatar Electricity and Water Company is ready with the proposal to build a new integrated plant for water and electricity in order to meet the increasing demand and it is in its tendering stage now,” said al-Kuwari.

The Kahramaa president also informed that the country  had the facility to meet the growing water demand even in the event of an emergency.

A senior official of the corporation later told Gulf Times that the corporation spent close to QR4.40 to generate one cubic metre of desalinated water.

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