Metito, the international desalination, water and wastewater treatment specialist, was honoured with the  “Desalination Company of the Year 2006” award by the Global Water Intelligence magazine in recognition of its significant and valuable contribution to the industry worldwide.

The award was presented to Bassem Halabi, Metito’s group business development director, at a gala ceremony during the International Desalination Association Water Forum.
Now in its second year, the award has been instituted to recognise the innovation and commitment of companies and organisations that strive to ensure availability of water for future generations. It highlights the important work done by water companies and agencies, engineers, contractors, dealmakers and bankers to guarantee a sustainable future for all.
Receiving the award, Halabi said: “This is a great moment of international recognition for everyone at Metito. We won the award despite tough competition from high-calibre US, European, and Far Eastern companies. This is a clear reflection of our commitment, our international best practices and world-class innovation which act as a quality platform through which we strive to serve the community and our client-base.”
Founded in 1958, Metito operates in 14 countries of the Arab and Islamic World, and supplies its plants internationally to locations as far apart as Argentina and Australia from its base in the UAE.  Some of the company’s notable achievements in 2005 include the rehabilitation of the Hartha and Najibiyah power stations in Iraq, the water supply to Pelindo ports in Indonesia, drinking water supply to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt and the innovative reuse of water at The Palm, Jumeirah.
In other Metito-related news, the company called for efficient integration of innovative desalination technologies with recycling facilities in order to improve the long-term economics of existing and upcoming projects within the Middle East and North Africa regions.
In his presentation on “Advanced Wastewater Reuse Incorporating Innovation” at the “IDA 2nd Dubai International Water Forum, Halabi stated that integration of innovative technologies in the water reuse industry could offer improved economics to the end-user.
The IDA 2nd Dubai International Water Forum was a two-day management and technical conference held in early March and which brought experts, scientists, engineers and decision-makers from all over the world for an in-depth examination of how new technologies could be successfully incorporated in the water management and development programmes.
“As desalination and water reuse expansion continues at a rapid pace in the Middle East, these innovations must be integrated into the next generation of water facilities in order to maximise the return on investment and improve the overall long-term economics of the projects,” Halabi said.
It is worth mentioning that Metito is in the process of upgrading its wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) at The Greens, using an innovative approach. This enables the company to upgrade the plant capacity from 3,000 cu m per day to 10,000 cu m per day without interrupting operation. The new plant can supply to both Emirates Hills and The Greens, and will produce high-quality treated effluent suitable for unrestricted irrigation.
Also recently, Metito showcased its complete support and adherence to the 10 principles of the United Nations Global Compact initiative at a CSR workshop organised by the Emirates Environmental Group.
Metito is among the first companies in the region to join the exclusive socially responsible community of the Global Compact.  This Compact was initiated by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to encourage companies to work together with UN agencies to support universal environmental and social principles that revolve around a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment, and anti-corruption.