VIENNA, Austria, Sept. 8, 2008 -- The Arison Group announced today that it has formed a global water company called Miya and invested $100 million to assemble the world's foremost thought-leadership to find solutions for municipalities and utilities concerning water loss management issues.
The creation of Miya was announced by Arison Group Chairman Shari Arison, who holds the same title at Miya, during the prestigious International Water Congress that began here this week. She termed Miya's launch a "significant part of the implementation of our vision of investing in businesses that bring an added value to the world."
"I believe that through business and philanthropy, it is possible to make positive changes on a global level. I have a personal responsibility and obligation to do everything in my power to lead towards a better future for us and for that of the generations to come," said Arison. "Miya, with cutting edge expertise and technology that ranks among the world's leaders, will provide solutions for fully utilizing the Earth's abundance of water."
Miya was established by Shari Arison through Arison Investments, the business arm of the Group. Efrat Peled, Arison Investments chief executive officer and vice chairman of Miya, said, "Our aim in reducing water loss in general, and in establishing Miya in particular, is to generate high financial yields while creating positive added value for Israel and the world, for the environment and the community. By efficiently exploiting the supply of drinkable water, we are implementing our concept of sustainability. We, at Arison Investments, will continue to harness our financial strength and our activities in the fields of finance, real estate and infrastructures, alternative and renewable energy and water to invest in large-scale enterprises, breakthroughs that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of large numbers of people around the world -- such as, Miya. We will continue to focus on long-term investments that look toward the future, to create economic value."
In 2006 Arison took the first step in creating Miya by engaging one of the world's leading experts on water, Booky Oren, as its president and chief executive officer. Oren is a widely sought-after international expert in water issues and was serving as the chairman of Israel's national water utility, Mekorot, at the time.
After creating the strategic and business plan for the new company, Arison Investments and the Miya executive team set about acquiring six firms and recruiting leading industry experts from around the world. Already, Miya holds the largest accumulated experience and knowledge in creating comprehensive, practical solutions for municipal distribution systems worldwide in water loss management.
Miya estimates that a third of the world's drinking water is lost through leaking pipes, most of which are hidden underground and need to be actively detected and repaired. Recouping the water currently lost is one of the most environmental and cost effective ways to address global water shortages. Reducing these losses by only half, for example, will provide an additional 130 million people with fresh drinking water. Miya's solution is based on a proven methodology that uses a combination of technologies focused on pressure management, active leakage detection and repair, and selective pipe replacement, rather than massive infrastructure replacement. Miya also offers flexible business models and financing solutions to address the varying financial needs of its customers.
Miya's global operations include subsidiaries: Dorot -- a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of a wide range of superior pressure control valves distributed in over 70 countries; Switzerland-based GUTERMANN, which provides major water utilities with data acquisition and leak location equipment; Croatian-based IMGD, a pioneer and leader in water loss management in the Balkans; Romiya, a dedicated solutions provider for the Romanian market, providing turnkey water loss management solutions; Veritec Consulting, a recognized North American pioneer in water loss that has successfully designed and implemented some of the largest water loss reduction programs in Canada; WRP, a specialist international engineering consultancy in the fields of water resource planning and management, conservation, and environmental management active mainly in South Africa and Australia; and other recognized international experts who round out the company's global coverage.
"Currently, more than 1.4 billion people do not have access to clean, safe water, and by 2025 there will be a 40-percent increase in consumption. With an increasing population and accelerating urbanization, municipal water supplies are under increasing pressure. Miya is the first global company to offer an unparalleled range of solutions, based on innovative technological solutions and unique funding models," said Oren.
"We have completed the first step in our strategic plan -- assembling leading companies and experts globally, which have provided us with know how and practical experience to deliver results to our clients. We have a strong pipeline of prospective projects that total in the hundreds of millions of dollars and expect to begin work on them over the next year," he added.
The Arison Group is a global business and philanthropy group, headquartered in Israel.
Arison Investments focuses on the business core of sustainability and applies the vision of securing the human existence to the field of global business.
The Ted Arison Family Foundation focuses on listening to the needs of the community. The foundation implements giving to the community through its donations and activities for improving the quality of life in Israel and for bringing about a transformation of the social environment.
>> More information on the Arison Family Foundation
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