Israel's national water company, Mekorot, is on the verge of signing its first deal to provide Bahrain with desalination technology for brackish water. Although the company did not release its projections for it, the deal is said to be worth millions of dollars annually.
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According to a report in financial daily Globes, the deal will be signed in the coming days in Manama, and is the results of efforts by Mekorot CEO Eli Cohen and Chairperson Mordechai Mordechai vis-à-vis Bahrain's Water and Electricity Authority.
The report cites a Mekorot official as saying the company believes that the deal will be "the first of many deals with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Cohen recently visited the UAE for talks with government organizations in Dubai on water technology, Mekorot said, adding that Bahrain and the UAE are interested, among other things, in desalination, quality control of water, reduce waste and leakages, water management systems, and integration of technical management services.
According to Globes, the most urgent need in the UAE and Bahrain is for the desalination of brackish water for agriculture and drinking.
One of the biggest problems in the Gulf kingdoms is the quality of water, especially in wells where the water is often polluted. The result is that almost all drinking water is imported bottles of mineral water, at great expense to the state and consumers.
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When Bahrain's Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Zayed bin Rashid visited Israel last month, he said his country was particularly interested in promoting cooperation on Israeli knowhow and experience in this field
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
