Desalination Companies in the Gulf States

in bank of america ceo Gold GOld juniors lead by admin — September 9, 2010 8:51 am | no comments

The time for discussing a looming water shortage has passed. It’s no longer looming; it’s here. The World Bank now reports 80 countries facing “water shortages that threaten the health of their citizens and economies.” From the American Southwest to the Middle East to China’s Northeast… population growth, food needs, and drought are straining water resources to the max. And the solution to these problems are going to present myriad investment opportunities. I covered the Chinese angle a few weeks ago. Today we’re going to peek under the water veil of the Middle East. Advertisement Why Stalin’s “lost oil” could bank you 180 times your money by this time next year Joseph Stalin isn’t widely known for the mistake he made nearly 70 years ago… But he should be, because it stands to make a handful of savvy investors quite rich in the coming months. In fact those who know what we’ve just uncovered could make as much as 180 times their money. Read our latest report now before this story makes headline news. Hot, dry, and lucrative I can’t state clearly enough how desperate the water situation is in the Middle East. According to a report out this week by Arabian Business , Kuwait is consuming more water than it can produce: “the Gulf state is using an estimated 399 million gallons a day, just one million gallons short of [its] total daily production capacity.” The Ministry of Electricity and Water plans to add an additional 40 million gallons of desalination capacity to cover demand for this year, but warns more capacity will be needed in 2012 and 2013. Last week, the Ministry of Environment and Water in the United Arab Emirates called on the public to “rationalize water consumption to stop the drainage of ground resources and protect the environment,” adding that it’s “taking additional measures to achieve this goal, including banning the use of tractors and other traditional irrigation systems from next year.” Last year, the UAE spent $3.21 billion desalinating water for its citizens. That budget is expected to increase. Similar spending is being done in Saudi Arabia. Over the long weekend, the country announced plans to build a $3.9 billion power plant with an integrated desalination facility. Pay attention, because this is where it gets good for investors… Familiar countries, familiar companies The Saudis awarded the desalination part of the contract�— valued at $1.46 billion — to South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction (KOREA: 034020). (Another company I follow, Energy Recovery (NASDAQ: ERII), has a history of desalination parts orders from Doosan. It may be worth a look on the news of this contract.) And the remaining $2.44 billion has been awarded to China’s Sepco III Electric Power Construction Corp. to build the power plant. As more and more such plants are built, it seems a few countries and companies are taking center stage. Countries like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are obvious because of booming populations and desert location. But increasingly, China and South Korea have …