The ninth edition of the ASIAWATER Expo & Forum, the largest and leading water and wastewater event for developing countries in Asia, will take place April 6-8 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

With 90 percent of the booth space already booked, ASIAWATER 2016 is one of the best shows throughout Asia for current ASEAN water needs, including water supply, water resources, sanitation and purification.

As part of the ASIAWATER 2016 marketing campaign, the ASIAWATER team organised a technical visit for their exhibitors, staff and media to Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) Bunus Regional Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) on 2 December.

This is the first leg of the three tours to educate and promote the water services industry in Malaysia.

IWK is responsible for providing sewerage services, operating and maintaining over 6,355 STPs and a 17,551km network of sewerage pipelines which serve 22.3 million people except those in Kelantan,Sabah, Sarawak and Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru.  

IWK's Bunus Regional STP is one of the largest and most modern in Kuala Lumpur, encompassing a total sewerage catchment of 70km² covering north-eastern Kuala Lumpur and Ampang-Ulu Klang areas including TAR College, Wardieburn Camp and Wangsa Maju.

The Bunus Regional STP is in the process of upgrading to increase its treatment loading capacity of sewage discharges from 373,000 population equivalent to 1.1 million. The upgrading work started three months ago and is expected to be completed within three years.

"Currently, the treatment plant receives about 65,000 cubic meters of sewage water daily and processes between 20 and 30 cubic meters of treated sludge," said its senior manager (operations), Ruzaini Ahmad.

"I'm very happy that we have the support from IWK in ASIAWATER and I hope with this collaboration, we will provide the platform for the Government sector to meet with the private sector to solve the water challenges that we have been facing," said Dato' Teo Yen Hua, Advisor of ASIAWATER Expo & Forum and former CEO of the Malaysian National Water Services Commission (SPAN).

"ASIAWATER has proved to be a highly important B2B platform for industry players and professionals. The show presents an outstanding opportunity for players to increase their brand exposure and develop business potential as they expand network and form new partnerships, he continued."

ASIAWATER 2016 is anticipated to host more than 780 exhibitors from 48 countries and will have 11 major international pavilions including from mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, The United States of America, Austria, Germany, India.

The list of confirmed exhibiting companies includes AVK Valves Manufacturing, Ebara Pumps Malaysia, Ranhill Water Divisions, George Kent Malaysia, Spirolite, Tsurumi Manufacturing,Endress Hauser, Molecor (SEA), Salcon Engineering, VAG-Valves Malaysia and many more.

Eliane van Doorn, Director of Business Development for UBM ASEAN, commented: "We are pleased to introduce the four key themes of our free-to-attend seminars and conferences at ASIAWATER 2016, open to those who are keen and interested in Tariff Setting & Pricing, Non-revenue Water, Water Resources and Wastewater Management. I believe with the international and regional speakers sharing and presenting, it will certainly benefit not just the private sector but also the Federal and State Governments of Asia."