20 projects to cut water costs

20 projects studying ways to cut the costs of producing water in the largely arid Middle East region have been approved by a water desalinization center spawned by the Middle East peace process, a center official said yesterday.

Shannon McCarthy, a consultant for programs and project development at the Muscat-based Middle East Desalinization Research Center (MEDREC), said, "We will issue tenders for research proposals to institutions and universities in October."