More than 10 per cent of UAE's precious water supply leaking away



DUBAI // At least 10 per cent of the UAE's precious water supply is wasted due to poor welding and uncertified contractors, experts say.

"Supervision needs to be improved," Reda Ashkar, regional business development manager at the German quality-assurance company SKZ, told the Middle East Water Leakage Summit in Dubai last week.

"These leakages are mainly due to a lack of knowledge, experience, training and certification of welders, installers, companies and consultants putting up specifications for the projects."

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) says more than 11 per cent of Dubai's water is lost to leaks, down from 40 per cent less than a decade ago.

This month, a Dubai-based family was charged Dh54,000 in water bills after almost a million gallons leaked from a crack in the underground pipe to their home.

That kind of problem is all too common. "I get at least 30 water leaks a month in Dubai," said Mohammad Waseem, the owner of WM technical services, which fixes leaks.

"The reasons are usually fitting or material problems, contractors and welders don't do their work very well, and sometimes it's even the architect's fault."

Detecting leaks can also be difficult. "Sometimes, it's very complicated to fix because water leaks inside the wall so we have to break it," said Mr Waseem.

"It's all very costly, from Dh150 to thousands, and a lot of water is lost."

Leaks are a huge problem worldwide. "[Globally], 25 per cent of drinking water which is put into the system is lost," said Lucas Grolimund, the chief executive of Gutermann, a Swiss firm that provides leak-detection technology. "This is water that is perfectly good so everything that goes away is just a pity."

Such leaks are a particular concern in the Middle East, where water is a scarce natural resource.

"Some areas have an abundance [of water] but here, it's a very serious problem because you have to desalinate all of it," said Mr Grolimund. "It's very important to put efforts to reduce leakages."

Yet the region is hit by some of the most serious water losses. Saudi Arabia loses up to 60 per cent of its water through piping leaks due to old networks. Syria and Jordan lose up to 45 per cent. UAE figures are not available.

"Desalinating water is costing everyone a lot of money," said Mr Ashkar. "A litre of water is costing almost more than a litre of fuel and we're wasting it in the wrong way. When we're out of fuel, we're out of water."

Some cities are taking the necessary steps to cut their losses.

"Some cities are advanced in [making] efforts, like Al Ain," said Mr Grolimund. "We provided them with a permanent leak-detection system.

"It's a project that's run by the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority and Al Ain is now deploying this permanent leakage monitoring system. The plan is to deploy it to the whole city."

Other solutions include leak-detection equipment or pressure management. "It's a question of focus," said Mr Grolimund. "Water is a valuable resource."

And experts are hopeful. "There is a possibility to improve," said Mr Ashkar. "Adwea has updated its training. They've sent their trainers to us and realised the advantage on their projects.

"They're equipping contractors and consultants. We are losing more [water] than we should, that's why we are educating people."

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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