Eighth Power International Expo kicks off in Colombo

By Shanuka Tissera

CEMS Global – Conference and Exhibition Management Services Ltd opened its doors to specialists within the power and energy sector with their latest international exhibition on power generation and transmission, PV power, energy and renewable energy.

Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen inaugurates CEMS-Global USA’s 8th Power Sri Lanka 2012 International Expo’ at the SLECC yesterday. Group CEMS-Global USA and Asia-Pacific CEO S. S. Sarwar; Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau Chairman Engr. Nihal Rupasinghe and Brown & Company AGM Manoj Handapangoda are also present – Pix by Upul Abayasekara

The exhibition began yesterday and will conclude tomorrow (16) at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre (SLECC), Colombo and Co-partner of the exhibition is Browns Group.

Concurrent exhibitions will also be held and are on the following; Renewable Energy Sri Lanka 2012 International Expo, Solar Sri Lanka 2012 Expo and E-Power Sri Lanka 2012 International Expo. CEMS Global USA and Asia Pacific Group CEO S.S. Sarwar announced that these trade shows in South and South East Asia are very important for the future of these emerging economies and noted a special emphasis on the energy sector, stating, “Air freight and logistics are vital for successful growth and are sectors that we wish to help elevate in turn.”

The exhibition will bring together all stakeholders in the power and energy industry within a B2B platform allowing the Sri Lankan power and energy sector to closely interact with exhibitors from over 10 countries and local entrepreneurs resulting in the birth successful partnerships to help accomplish the Governments’ vision of a greener economy, thus a brighter future.

Chief Guest Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen shared the goals the Government have set to reduce their carbon footprint and their means to increase efficiency through lowering their dependence on fossil fuels. Minister Bathiudeen said, “Now that we have peace, the Government is calculating the best way to develop several districts that will now come under the national grid, therefore we have a growing demand to deal with.”  

The timely event coincides with this week’s release of global trends in renewable energy investment data by the World Bank in association with Bloomberg. Accordingly, global investment in the renewable energy sector increased by 17% to $257 billion which is a six-fold increase in comparison to 2004 investments.  This clearly shows the future trend of energy. The estimated energy requirement increase is set at 15,000 Kilo-tons by the year 2020 at an average growth rate of 3%.

This unique exhibition provides a chance to gain a foothold in a rapidly developing industry sector where investments are now on a rise with the industrialisation of Sri Lanka, making it a very important business destination in South Asia.

Minister Bathiudeen spoke about the need to promote sustainable energy solutions for the benefit of economic prospects, explaining that Sri Lanka can minimise their expenditure on imports of fossil fuels thus reducing a balance of payments related issue. In December 2011, the Ministry implemented a much needed increase in energy efficiency at a factory level. They are looking to reduce industry energy consumption by 10% initially through a mix of renewable energy sources.

The Expo will bring world class technology which will be beneficial to upgrade the power and energy sector and also play an important role by assembling the entire business community of Sri Lanka, from all the industry sectors under one roof creating a networking opportunity like no other seen in this Country. The exhibition will remain open for trade/business visitors from 10a.m. to 6.30p.m.