By Karen Bong
KUCHING, May 9: The Borneo International Water and Wastewater Exhibition and Conference (BIWWEC) 2024 scheduled to be held from Oct 23 to 25 is poised to serve as the springboard for Sarawak’s roadmap to the International Water Association World Water Congress 2028, with Kuching securing the prestigious role of host city.
Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi underscored that this achievement stemmed from an extensive and competitive bidding process and notably, it marked the inaugural occasion where the flagship event by the International Water Association will take place in the Asean region.
“One of the key factors for the award in Sarawak’s vision to transition into a sustainability and innovation hub in Asean as stipulated in our Post-Covid Development Startegy (PCDS) 2030.
“Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg will officiate at the event and deliver a keynote address for this conference,” he revealed during a press conference at the Ministry’s meeting room in Sarawak Legislative Assembly today.
With the theme ‘Bridging Solutions for Water Sustainability’ and tagline ‘Flowing Future’, the bienniel event to be held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) anticipates the convergence of some 1,000 delegates, 30 international speakers and 55 exhibitors, all focused on exploring water sustainability solutions and technologies.
The key topics for this year’s conference are: Sustainable Water, Water and Energy, Financial Sustainability for Water Assets and Digital Water Innovation.
Additionally, local and national universities such as Swinburne, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) have been invited to the scientific committee to curate top class papers to be presented at BIWWEC.
Julaihi pointed out that invitations have been sent to regional water associations such as the Indonesian Association of Water Supply Companies (PERPAMSI), Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association (VWSA), Singapore Water Association (SWA), Philippines Local Water Utilities Administration- or collectively known as South East Asia Water Utility Network to have a leadership forum during BIWWEC.
“Which is why, on behalf of my Ministry I am delighted to announce that this year, BIWWEC2024 will be held in conjunction with Sarawak Utility and Telecommunication Conference 2024 (SUTC 2024) and MyWin HR (Malaysia Water Industry Human Resources)
“By combining our platforms, we will then be able to not only leverage on our joint network but we aim to maximise the experience for delegates that will be attending. After all, we are working towards the same goal for water sustainability and its contribution to the region’s socio-economic development,” he added.
First organised in 2010 by Malaysian Water Association, the conference has attracted participants from various countries, including Australia, Britain, Cambodia, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Vietnam over the years. — DayakDaily
