South Australia is set to pull in billions of dollars worth of water management contracts from the US.
The State has pegged itself the official world leader in water sustainability.
A 40-strong contingent of Australian business people, politicians and research experts, including Treasurer Kevin Foley, attended water forums as part of the annual G’Day USA event in the US during the week, spruiking Australia’s leading-edge innovation, research and science capability in urban and rural water management.
The G’Day USA showcase is designed to highlight Australian business capabilities in the US - Australia’s largest trading and investment partner.
Mr Foley took in a number of sessions at the Urban Water Forum in LA on Thursday, where he championed the State Government’s decision to build a desalination plant and spoke about recovering the cost of the plant through water pricing.
A spokesman for Mr Foley said he also discussed the various construction models considered by the Government including Public Private Partnerships.
“He particularly focused on why, given the complexity of the technology used in desalination, it was important for governments to consider whether risk is better transferred to the private sector,” he said.
This comes just hours before it was revealed the state is locked into buying $220 million in desalinated water in the first two years of the plant’s operation.
At the same time, the Deputy Premier was spotted sipping wine with T&R Pastoral boss Darren Thomas and South Australian wine maker John Davey, from Shingleback Wines, at the Australian Premium Wine Dinner in Hollywood, which also forms part of the G’Day USA festivities.
Austrade regional director for the Americas Grame Barty said SA businesses had simultaneously targeted key decision makers with allied solutions at G’Day USA in an attempt to promote its water technology expertise. Mr Barty said in the past California had considered bonds as high as $9 billion to address its severe water shortage - a market SA was primed for.
“We’re talking about a new industry that is being created out of necessity and, in that regard, SA has been the one to come up with solutions because it’s been a continually stressed environment,” Mr Barty said. “If we were successful with marketing products in southern California, that’s a 22 million population to tap into.”
Major congresses in San Francisco and Washington DC this week are also tipped to be fruitful for Adelaide-based companies such as Baleen Filters Pty Ltd, Optimatics and Windesal Ltd which will have face time with venture capitalists and influencers within the World Bank.
Leading water policy expert Professor Mike Young, of Adelaide University, said Australia was the “new Israel”, which has long been considered the leader in water reform.
