The 26th edition of the International Water and Environment Fair, SMAGUA, which was inaugurated this Tuesday, March 7, at Feria Zaragoza, and which will be held until Thursday, March 9, reflects the technological leap that the industry in the last four years.
This was explained by both the president of Feria Zaragoza, Manuel Teruel, and the president of the organizing committee and the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation, Dolores Pascual, on the occasion of the start of this event, which takes place together with the third International Exhibition of the Machinery and Equipment for Cellulose, Paper and Cardboard, SPAPERwhile from March 8 to 9 the second edition of the International Renewable Energy Maintenance Fair will take place at the same facilities, EXPOFIMER. They have been accompanied by the president of Aragon, Javier Lambán.
Manuel Teruel has highlighted that, once again, Zaragoza “returns to becoming the European capital of water” and “it is a great satisfaction to return to the pre-pandemic figures”, after a transit edition, that of 2021.
In total, there is the presence of 612 marks, 40 percent national, with 25 Aragonese companies -23 in SMAGUA and two in SPAPER–, and 60 percent foreign, from 28 countries, with a forecast of at least 25,000 professional visitors and technical conferences “important”, has glossed the president of Feria Zaragoza.
has highlighted the technological leap“especially in digitization” and, precisely, on this day six distinctions are given for technical innovations and eight for existing technology improvements, “but which have taken an important qualitative leap”.
“We are very satisfied and we hope that both the exhibitors, the speakers and visitors, when the fair ends, will have the thanks and recognition for the effort that has been made”, added Teruel.
Water and production model
The president of Aragon, Javier Lambán, has stressed that his government has taken care in recent years “of promoting a productive model that is proving to be very competitive, based on the sustainable and intelligent exploitation of our natural resources, and of course one of them is, indisputably, perhaps the most important, along with the territory and geographical location, water”.
“It is an issue that has been addressed in the recently approved review and update of the Water Pact”, and a resource for which there is concern in this territory “constitutional to its history” and even “before we called to Aragonese ourselves, we were concerned”, as reflected by the Botorrita bronze, “the first written document preserved in Aragon and that deals with a conflict between municipalities over the dispute over such a precious asset”, he recounted.
Lambán has highlighted the role of Feria de Zaragoza in the economic development of the autonomous community and as a “showcase” of its potential “and even a framework for important debates”, an institution that, like all others, has suffered the consequences of the pandemic, although , “fortunately, normal activity has resumed and a good example of this is this SMAGUA fair that recovers its splendor” prior to COVID-19.
He added that Feria Zaragoza is “absolutely in tune with the priorities and problems of the autonomous community and the different economic sectors” of Aragon.
professionalism
The president of the organizing committee and of the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation (CHE), Dolores Pascual, has mentioned the “professionalism” of the fair’s services, “which has led SMAGUA to consolidate itself as a specialized and benchmark event within the sector , with figures already similar to those before the pandemic“.
Pascual has vindicated the role of the water sector, “which has faced a very long and hard process” and which now has to deal with “a series of uncertainties derived from the international situation and the rise in prices”, although the sheet route “is marked by community standards, by the European Green Pact”.
As a matter of fact, he said: “We have to face decarbonization and the use of renewable energies and, above all, the application of technology” and this show “is a good example that the sector is facing these challenges, but also with the guarantee of supply both in quantity and quality”.
With regard to the CHE, he has commented that it has the support of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, through the General Directorate of Water, at this fair, where the nine hydrographic confederations of the country and the state companies dependent on it are present. the aforementioned directorate general.
“We understand that it is an obligation of the public sector to show the actions that are being developed to face the same challenges as the private sector” and also to know “the needs and expectations” of the latter because “they are our service providers”.
digitization
Dolores Pascual has remarked that SMAGUA not only has a commercial facet, but also provides reflection through technical conferences and the CHE is going to develop a “very interesting conference on the digitization of basin organizations to show the sector and citizens in general which is the process of technification and digitization in the public sector in water managementto”.
In his opinion, before climate change challenge you have to adapt and for that this technification and digitization is required “to have a clear accounting of the uses of water and to be able to do better management” and also influence the “cohesion and strengthening of the governance that we have in Spain”.
Pascual has maintained that the management of water by basins, with the “necessary and essential” collaboration of the rest of the Administrations that act in the territory, allows a comprehensive treatment of water resources from the headwaters to the mouth “and that is what we want show at this fair”.
