Baku hosts Caspian Exhibition and Conference
By Nazrin Gadimova
The second Caspian International Aqua Technologies Exhibition and Conference (CATEC) opened in Baku Expo Center on April 10.
CATEC 2014 brought together such brands as AZЕRSU, Akkord Azerbaijan, Amiad Water Systems, AVK, Culligan, Elektromed, Erkon, Flotenk, GEA Westfalia, Grand Motors, Greenworks, Grundfos, Krohne Anlagen, KWI International, Nirosoft, Sampro Canada, Sulzer, Sumgayit Technologies Park, Turan Makina, Valvotubi Ind, Kommunalnik Gomel Plant OJSC, and many others.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chairman of the AZERSU OJSC Gorkhmaz Huseynov said the company can see the improvement in the quality of the work of local contractors.
Huseynov said monitoring the results shows that only two Azerbaijani companies entered the list of the top 10 companies for the quality of their work in the first quarter of 2013. However, in the first eight months of 2013 the number of local contractors in the list reached three, while only two foreign companies were in the same list.
At the end of 2013, only Azerbaijani companies were among the top five, while only one foreign company was in the same list, Chairman of the AZERSU added.
Saying exhibitions as such CATEC, the largest event in the Caspian region, plays a huge role in developing these indicators, he added that AZERSU is trying to create more favorable conditions for the participation of local companies in the projects implemented in cooperation with international financial institutions.
Answering the questions of journalists, Huseynov said an increase in the water tariff is not expected in Azerbaijan.
"The current level of tariffs is sufficient to ensure the profitability of the company," he said, adding that the amount of fee paid by the population is relatively high and amounts to 94 percent.
"Today the problem is different: we can sell a little more than 40 percent of the produced water, and the loss is 56 percent. The main reasons for this problem are the old infrastructure that needs to be updated, and the widespread use of public water tanks. With the gradual transition to the regular regime of drinking water supply, we will seek these water tanks to get out of use. We are working with the Executive Power of Baku and the Emergency Situations Ministry in this direction," he added.
The exhibition features 24 industry companies operating in the fields of technology, production and delivery, and representing 79 countries, including Azerbaijan, Austria, Germany, USA, Canada, Turkey, Israel, Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, France, Hungary, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy and others. More than 60 percent of the participants are foreign guests.
CATEC 2014 is the only specialized event in the Caspian region in the field of new aqua technologies. The event has been organized through the initiative and support of AZERSU OJSC, while the organization partner of the exhibition is Iteca Caspian LLC.
The exhibition, which will run until April 12, will let to obtain the maximum amount of contacts and business interaction; study the main tendencies and demands in the water supply and sewage sector; join the main meeting place for aqua technologies and micro tunneling specialists; discover useful information at the seminars and presentations and acquire new ideas, impressions and prospects.