Veolia Water Strengthens Market Position In Gulf Countries

Paris, France — Veolia Water has been awarded a five-year performance contract with a three-year extension option by OWSC (Oman Wastewater Services Company) to assist in the management of wastewater services in Muscat, which has a population of 700,000. OWSC is a public company given responsibility by the Omani government for all wastewater services in Muscat, the capital of the sultanate of Oman.

OWSC signed a 30-year concession agreement at the beginning of 2006 with the Government of Oman for the acquisition, development and operation of Muscat's wastewater collection and treatment system. Veolia Water's assignment is a part of this major infrastructure programme aimed at providing Muscat with high-performance facilities and operating practices.

Under the contract, Veolia Water will use its expertise to help OWSC meet the ambitious operating targets it has been set relating to connecting households to the collection system, increasing profitability and good governance. Nine of the company's experts will be working in Oman for five years in the following areas:

• technical expertise for overseeing works, facility handover and operation, as well as the implementation of a wastewater reuse program;
• financial expertise to set tariffs, plan investments and supervise OWSC's income and expenditures;
• human resources expertise, by recruiting and training 400 employees for OWSC.

"Five months after signing a contract in Ajman, one of the States in the United Arab Emirates, for the first contract in wastewater management ever to be awarded by a private operator in a Gulf country, Veolia Water confirms its development in the region with the performance contract awarded in Oman. Veolia Water will bring in its expertise to support these projects, combining progress in labor relations, environmental protection and economic efficiency" said Antoine Frérot, Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Water.

SOURCE: Veolia Water