PARIS, France, July 30, 2008 -- Veolia Water has signed a contract with the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) for the financing, design, construction and operation of two new wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in the cities of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. It represents the biggest contract to-date signed for wastewater in the Middle East.
Also associated in the project financing are the ADWEA and the Belgian group Besix. Besix will carry out the civil engineering work part of the construction and will be involved in one third of the operating services. After the initial construction period, which will take two and a half years, Veolia Water will operate the two wastewater treatment plants for 22 and a half years. In total, over the 25-year period, the project will contribute an estimated €364 million to consolidated revenue.
The plants will be equipped with Multiflo™, the Veolia Water lamellar settling process. The plant in the capital, Abu Dhabi, will have a treatment capacity of 300,000 cubic meters per day, and the capacity of the plant in Al Ain, the emirate's second largest city, will be 130,000 cubic meters per day. In response to the ADWEA's quality requirements, the level of treatment will be very advanced. This will enable the treated water to be reused for irrigation and watering green spaces.
Veolia Water, along with its partners, will call on all its expertise and know-how in operating and environmental management to deliver this project. It confirms Veolia Water's leading position in the region, where unprecedented development is planned in the coming years due to strong economic growth and the expansion of the tourist industry.
Outlining the importance of the contract, Antoine Frérot, Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Water said : "As the needs for construction and infrastructure management increase, our aim is to help the Emirate of Abu Dhabi deal with the demand for wastewater services that this rapid growth is creating and which are essential to the sustainable development of the region. This is the fifth contract we have signed in the Gulf region in the space of one year."
Veolia Water, the water division of Veolia Environnement, is a world leader in water and wastewater services.
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