Abu Dhabi Selects Veolia for Two Plants
Veolia Water has signed a contract with the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority for the financing, design, construction, and operation of two new wastewater treatment plants in the cities of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. This is the biggest contract to date signed for wastewater in the Middle East, according to a July 30 press release.
The authority and the Belgian group Besix are associated in the project financing. 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 Abu Dhabi will have a treatment capacity of 300,000 cubic meters per day, and the capacity of Al Ain plant, will be 130,000 cubic meters per day. In response to the authority'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.
"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," said Chief Executive Officer Antoine Frérot.
Veolia Water, the water division of Veolia Environnement, is the world leader in water and wastewater services. Specialized in outsourcing services for municipal authorities, as well as industrial and service companies, it is also one of the world's major designers of technological solutions and constructor of facilities needed in water and wastewater services. With 82,800 employees, worldwide, Veolia Water provides water service to 78 million people and wastewater service to 53 million. Its 2007 revenue amounted to €10.9 billion.