UAE-based testing laboratory bags global excellence, leadership awards

Emirates Business

The UAE-based member of Sheikh Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Geoscience Testing Laboratory (GTL), was bestowed with two international awards — ‘Excellence in the Analysis of Water Quality and Compliance’ and ‘CEO of the Year’, at the World Water Leadership Congress Awards 2016 held recently in Mumbai, India.
The World Water Leadership Congress & Awards recognises both individuals and organisations doing the most notable work in various fields related to water management. The event gathered more than 130 countries under one roof to discuss and address relevant issues concerning sustainable water management, hygiene and sanitation, drinking water systems, river basin management among others.
Water management is one of the most important areas of global development today. The United Nations had declared the period 2005-2015 as the ‘International Decade for Action’ with the theme, ‘Water for Life’. They stated: “Declining water quality has become a global issue of concern as human populations grow, industrial and agricultural activities expand, and climate change threatens to cause major alterations to the hydrological cycle.”
In the UAE, stakeholders have adopted initiatives aimed towards preserving and further developing water quality. One of the national agenda of the UAE Vision 2021 is to preserve water sources. It also sets strategic indices to measure water scarcity and progress being made in water management.
Abdullatif Abdulla Ali Al Gargawi, Chairman of GTL, said: “We are pleased to receive the award for excellence in the analysis of water quality and compliance. This is a testament of our effort in providing world-class services in the field of quality and compliance solutions.”
“A significant part of our strategic goals is centred on enhancing our research and quality testing platforms in order to be aligned with the UAE aim in sustaining the availability of clean and safe water in the country. We plan to provide more services that will support the protection of human health through the reduction of exposure to contaminants in drinking water, dialysis water and other water features such as recreational and marine water,” Al Gargawi added.
GTL, a sister company of Prime Certification and Inspection, was established in 1996 and has been actively involved in five main areas: geotechnical, construction material, chemical, microbiology, and halal testing. Its chemical division is concerned with water standards while its environment department is engaged in projects involving water, waste water, drinking water, swimming pool water, ground water,
dialysis water, solid wastes, sediments and sludge. GTL is equipped to test and
evaluate contamination in water as its facility is ISO 17025-certified, confirming its competence as a testing and calibration laboratory.