Welcome in VEOLIA Environnement Finance areaWelcome in VEOLIA Environnement Finance area
Paris, December 5, 2006. Veolia Water has been selected for two major projects in Australia to alleviate the severest drought that the State of Queensland (one of the fastest growing demographic regions in the country) has ever recorded. Thus, Veolia Water has been chosen by the Queensland Government to accompany it on one of the biggest recycled water infrastructure projects in the southern hemisphere. In parallel, the Queensland Government and the Gold Coast City municipality have awarded Veolia Water, in partnership with the John Holland Group, the realization of a major desalination plant. Both projects form a crucial part of the South East Queensland Regional Water Supply Strategy for effective management of the regions water resources.
For the Western Corridor Recycled Water (WCRW) scheme, Veolia Water will initially provide advice to the Queensland Government for development of all installations and infrastructure, and will then become the operating partner, in an agreement where the terms will soon be defined. This programme, which is a major drought relief initiative of the State Government, will enable water from treatment plants around Brisbane to be recycled and used by industry. The project, scheduled for completion in 2008, represents a total investment of €1 billion for the State of Queensland. It consists of two stages, the first one involving the recycling of wastewater from the sites of Oxley, Wacol, Goodoa and Bundamba, and the second stage involving the recycling of wastewater from Luggage Point and Gibson Island. The volume of water treated by microfiltration or ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and UV, will be more than 200,000m3 per day.
The second contract is for the design, construction and operation of a vital desalination plant for the treatment of seawater using reverse osmosis technology to produce an average of 125,000m3/day of potable water for a population of up to 450,000 residents of the Gold Coast and the South Eastern Region of Queensland. Veolia Water will bring its know-how in process design and commissioning, as well as in the operations and maintenance of the plant for a term of 10 years, with a potential 5 year extension period. The plant will be in operation late 2008, and full production capacity is scheduled for early 2009. The contract is expected to bring a consolidated turnover of approximately €210 million over a period of 10 years for Veolia Water. All design and construction will be carried out to protect the environment and interests of the community in this highly developed and popular tourist area. The plant will be located at Tugun, adjacent to the Gold Coast Airport, at the Southern end of the Gold Coast.
According to Antoine Frérot, Veolia Waters Chief Executive Officer, these two contracts illustrate the companys longstanding and far reaching capacity in providing innovative sustainable solutions to one of the worlds toughest environmental challenges - sufficient water supply for all from a rare resource. The company has a long history of providing some of the largest and most significant desalination and water recycling projects in Australia as well as other main regions of the world. This announcement confirms our commitment to helping communities seek effective management of water resources.
*****
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. Veolia Water serves 108 million people worldwide. With 70,700 employees, its 2005 revenues amounted to €9.1 billion. http://www.veoliawater.com/
Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE and NYSE: VE) is world leader in environmental services. With more than 300,000 employees the company has operations all around the world and provides tailored solutions to meet the needs of municipal and industrial customers in four complementary segments: water management, waste management, energy management and freight and passenger transportation. Veolia Environnement recorded revenue of €25.2 billion in 2005. www.veolia.com
Analyst and institutional investor contact: Nathalie Pinon - Tel. +33 1 71 75 01 67
US investor contact: Brian Sullivan - Tel +(1) 630 371 2749
