Water becoming the new gold rush
May 12, 2008
In the 21st century, fresh water is quickly becoming as precious as gold.
The world’s water industry spent an estimated $300 billion last year to collect, treat and distribute water, a figure excluding the lucrative bottled water business.
That makes water a vast market for companies that can tap in.
The reason for the hefty price tag is simple. The world is suffering from a freshwater shortage. According to the United Nations, 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water.
European, American and Japanese companies have been driving into the industry since the late 1990s. In addition to providing water services in their home countries, these companies are focusing on areas that have water shortages, including countries in the Middle East and China.
With 20 percent of the world’s population, China possesses only 7 percent of the world’s freshwater.
Korea is also a target. French-based company Suez has secured a contract with local Hanhwa to build and operate a sewage treatment plant in Yangju, Gyeonggi and Busan.
Veolia, also a French-based water company, has contracted to build a sewage plant in Incheon.
According to the Korean government, local private companies are trying to get in on the action. Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction is the leader, providing 40 percent of the world’s water treatment services that involve purifying seawater into freshwater, mainly for countries in the Middle East.
“Those countries are selling oil to buy water services,” said Jin Bo-geun, a manager at Doosan Heavy.
Other local companies, including Kolong Industries, GS Engineering and Construction and Samsung Engineering, have all said that they will make various water services a part of their company’s goals.
The Korean government has also announced plans to help expand the local water industry, with the goal of making it a 20 trillion won [$19.16 billion] business by 2015. The government also wants at least two local companies included in the industry’s top 10 in the world. The government will help by cooperating with private companies to increase investments.
However, these state efforts are criticized by many industry experts who say the reason for Korea’s slow development in the water services industry stems from the country’s passive effort in privatization of water.
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the developing water industry is good chance for local cities to developing local economy. because, there is no significant source for developing local economy in local area but in Korea, they has good and clean water.
and their is domestic company which has good technology to developing water industry.
and it can be blue ocean.
but in my opinion, privatization of water is harmful to the whole country economy.
due to the privatization of water, cost of using water is increasing sharply.
for the developing water industry, Korea government try to other way.
20500530 entry #10
