The participants for the 10th Board of Directors Meeting of the Asia Water Council held on Sept. 24 in Wuhan, China, pose for a group photo led by President Lee Hak-soo of K-water, 5th L, in front row. (Photo: K-water)

Korea Water Resources Corp (K-water) held the 2nd Asia Int’l Water Week at Jakarta Sheraton Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, from Nov. 11-13. The event was for a Stakeholders Consultation Meeting, jointly conducted with the Public Works Ministry of Indonesia and the Asian Water Council.

The AWC was set up in 2016 and was led by the Korean government and K-water to secure international cooperation on water.

President Lee Hak-soo of K-water was heading the entity. Key members of the set up include UNESCO, UNFAO, World Bank, ADB and GCF.

The purpose of the Jakarta meeting was to spur the pan-government cooperation and also examine the preparation of the 2nd Asia Int’l Water Week on such subjects as the current issues facing the Asian water, the forum on water management, and the declaration of water from Asia to the world.

“This collaboration between KOICA and K-Water is the key for the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry. Indonesia needs technical expertise and support from South Korea,” he mentioned.

The collaboration between Indonesia and South Korea has been ongoing for years, including in the fields of transportation, water, and environment.

Indonesia was also a collaborative partner in urban development.

K-water on Oct. 7 signed an MOU with the Inter-American Development Bank at Shilla Hotel in Seoul, designed for joint solution of various problems related to water in Central and South America.

 President Lee said K-water is about to boost its international cooperation on the problems related to water. We will continue to expand our exchange with foreign countries and take part in resolving various problems related to water.

PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, and Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water), Korea’s national water utility, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on knowledge sharing and developing innovative solutions in the four areas of smart water grids, water quality monitoring, green energy and water treatment processes.

This MOU marks the first ever collaboration between the two national water utilities, and is the culmination of years of information and knowledge exchange between two of the world’s most advanced water utilities.

Within the four topics, identified common focus areas include automatic meter reading (smart water grids); rapid detection of contaminants (water quality monitoring); photovoltaic systems (green energy); and membrane technology (water treatment processes).

The Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-water) and Hyundai Engineering signed a contract to construct a hydroelectric power facility on the Tina River in the Solomon Islands, the state-run utilities company said.

Officials from Hyundai Engineering and Tina Hydropower Limited (THL), the company established by K-water for the hydroelectric project, held the signing ceremony in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands.

The project is to construct a 71.5-meter-tall dam and 15-megawatt hydroelectric power plant on the river some 20 kilometers southeast of Honiara, at a total cost of 250 billion won ($211 million).

The two-day 10th board meeting of the Asia Water Council ended Sept. 24 in Wuhan, China, sharing views on practical ways to address water crises in the region.

The meeting discussed ways to further activate the “Water Project,” an AWC project driven to give financial support to each Asian country’s plans to resolve water crisis. The board also discussed the means to bolster financial integrity of the AWC.

Some 100 people from 37 institutions participated in this year’s board meeting, of whom some were new to the AWC and were considering joining. AWC was first formed in 2016 under the leadership of the Korean government and state water agency K-water with the aim of international collaboration to tackle water crises in Asia. K-water CEO Lee Hak-soo is the chairperson.

To this day, AWC remains Asia’s biggest water-related global association. Its members include 134 institutions from 27 countries, as well as global organizations such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

AWC’s achievements so far include four Water Projects that successfully wrapped up in 2018, including a water management technology transfer to Vietnam.