PARIS, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 -- The Secretariat of Infrastructure and Urban Development of the Mexican State of Baja California and the State Commission for Water have chosen SUEZ, NSC Water and NuWater, to finance, build and operate the new desalination plant in Playas de Rosarito.
SUEZ will be in charge of the construction of the plant in two phases and will participate to its operation for 37 years. The first construction phase, due to start in 2017, will enable the production of 190,000 m3 of drinking water per day by 2020. The second conditional phase will double the capacity of the plant to 380,000 m3 per day by 2024, making it the largest seawater desalination plant on the American continent. The construction contract is worth a total of €389 million for SUEZ.
Faced with water shortages, Mexico is turning to alternative solutions, such as desalination, to supply water to its fast-growing population. The Rosarito plant will secure drinking water supplies in the coastal region of Baja California, using resources that are already available - seawater is made fit for consumption using the reverse osmosis desalination technology - and proposing an innovative public-private partnership business model.
Jean-Louis Chaussade, CEO of SUEZ stated: “We are proud to provide our know-how in the construction, funding and management of water treatment facilities to guarantee durable access to water for the local populations. We intend to continue to seize commercial opportunities in Mexico, and in South America in general, by developing solutions with local authorities and industries to protect resources, an essential issue in this region.”
The contract consolidates SUEZ’s presence in Mexico, where the Group has been actively present in water management for more than 30 years. The Group has built more than 300 water and wastewater treatment plants and offers its expertise in the distribution of drinking water and in technical and commercial support to local authorities in major cities, such as Saltillo or Mexico City. Today, 10 million inhabitants benefit from the services delivered by almost 2,200 employees.
About SUEZ
We are at the dawn of the resource revolution. In a world facing high demographic growth, runaway urbanization and the shortage of natural resources, securing, optimizing and renewing resources is essential to our future. SUEZ (Paris: SEV, Brussels: SEVB) supplies drinking water to 92 million people, delivers waste water treatment services to 65 million, collects waste produced by almost 34 million, recovers 16 million tons of waste each year and produces 7 TWh of local and renewable energy. With 82,530 employees, SUEZ, which is present on all five continents, is a key player in the circular economy for sustainable management of resources. SUEZ generated total revenues of €15.1 billion in 2015.
