So it may come as a surprise to learn that, on a per capita basis, the UAE is the second highest consumer of water in the world. Even accounting for some extravagance on the part of the Gulf states, such as national parks and urban greening programmes, it is notable that both the booming oil economies and the poorer Maghreb states alike feature high up the list of consumers.

There are a number of reasons for this. Arid countries have to expend considerably more of their water resources on maintaining basic subsistence levels than those in temperate or tropical zones. The Middle East states are also characterised by their high population growth rates, which are putting additional strain on existing resources. But perhaps most importantly, the rapid development of heavy industry in regional economies - particularly those in the Gulf - requires governments to stay on the lookout for new resources.

More than $120,000 will need to be invested in expanding the region's water and wastewater services over the next 10 years, according to a new report published in March by UK-based Global Water Intelligence (GWI). The 212-page study gives a comprehensive breakdown of the requirements of 20 countries, revealing that the bulk of the investment - about $86,000 million - will need to be spent over the next decade on potable water services, including desalination plants, pipelines and renovating leaking distribution mains. The requirement for drainage and sewerage projects up to 2015 amounts to about $40,000 million, which will be needed to build treatment plants and collection networks as well as improving existing levels of service. And there are other, indirect investment concerns facing regional governments. As new capital projects are commissioned, there will be an associated increase in the cost of operating plants and equipment, not to mention materials and staff costs. GWI estimates that operating costs for the regional water industry will almost double to $95,000 million from their current level.

Investment needs, unsurprisingly, are greatest in Saudi Arabia, where a $6,100 million programme is already under way to build four new desalination plants with combined capacity of nearly 2.3 million cubic metres a day (cm/d) of water. The longer-term requirement for new wastewater treatment capacity is estimated at about 2 million cm/d.

While the kingdom is a good example of the tendency among oil-rich states to fund basic infrastructure projects from the public purse, the prevailing opinion has been shifting in favour of private finance. A number of countries have been improving the conditions for investors, led in part by the example of Abu Dhabi, which has attracted about $9,000 million of foreign investment since it embarked on its long-term power and water privatisation programme in 1999.

Necessity

Breaking down investment requirements on a sector-by-sector basis, the survey highlights the wastewater sector as a 'forgotten necessity'. Fewer than 50 per cent of households have access to a piped collection network, regional sewage treatment is at a 'scandalously low' level and treatment plants are typically ageing and working well below capacity. The report's authors argue that this area has been neglected in favour of new-build desalination projects and iconic schemes such as the Great Manmade River (GMR) in Libya or the Disi project in Jordan, both of which are designed to tap fossil water from desert aquifers.

Public attitudes to this particular sector are rapid