Vol 1, Issue 11 (November 2000)

Analysis

  • A word from the Editor…

    This month we have included an analysis of the Mexican water market in GWI. With President-elect Vicente Fox set to take office on 1 December, now seems a good time to consider the new government’s policy on infrastructure investmen

General

  • Audit commission questions Paris water bills

    A REPORT by the Paris region’s audit commission (CRC) has suggested that water bills paid by the city’s residents could have been lower over the past ten years.

  • BP contract for Vivendi

    BP FRANCE SUBSIDIARY, BP Lavéra has signed a 10-year agreement with Vivendi Water covering treatment of refinery effluent at its Etang de Berre site in the south of France.

  • CESPT reissues San Antonio de los Buenos tender

    THE PUBLIC UTILITY in the Mexican state of Baja California – CESPT – has reissued a tender worth $5 million for the modernisation and expansion of the San Antonio de los Buenos WwTP in Tijuana.

  • Enron throws Azurix a lifeline – for now

    ENRON IS TO FUND A DEAL to take its beleagured water subsidiary Azurix private at a buyout price of $7 per share.

  • Mexico: a lost year for water

    To date 2000 has been something of a lost year for water projects in Mexico. Public and private sector plans have moved forward slowly or stalled completely. The election of PAN party candidate Vicente Fox has raised the prospect of change in the Mexican water sector. However, creating financing options for municipal infrastructure improvements remains a significant challenge.

  • Sofia closes

    THE SOFIA WATER AND WASTEWATER CONCESSION achieved financial close last month, according to the project’s legal adviser CMS Cameron McKenna.

Brief

  • Canadian O&M deal for US Filter

    US FILTER CANADA, a subsidiary of US Filter Operating Services, has been awarded a five-year O&M contract to operate water and wastewater systems for the town of Goderich in Ontario

  • Cesan privatisation to go ahead

    THE PRIVATISATION OF Companhia Espirito Santense de Saneamento (Cesan), the Espirito Santo state water company, is to resume.

  • GEM to modernise Algiers supply network

    THE FRENCH WATER SERVICES COMPANY, Groupe des Eaux de Marseille (GEM) has won its first major contract in Algeria for the rehabilitation of the water supply network in the capital, Algiers.

  • São Francisco transfer update

    BRAZILIAN NATIONAL INTEGRATION MINISTER Fernando Bezerra said on 27 October that the target date for the issue of tenders for the billion dollar- plus São Francisco river transfer scheme would be February or March 2001.

  • Scandinavian funds for Kaliningrad

    Government money for improved water and wastewater facilities.

  • Study reveals Michigan wastewater needs

    THE US STATE OF MICHIGAN’S old and failing sewage and stormwater systems require a major overhaul and substantial investment, according to a study published by Public Sector Consultants and Environmental Consulting & Technology Inc.

  • Thames remains on track in Brazil

    THAMES WATER has denied claims that it is getting cold feet about taking part in Brazil’s water industry privatisation process.

  • Vivendi Water opens Berlin research centre

    VIVENDI WATER has formally launched a new water research centre, Zentrum für Wasserkompetenz, a joint venture set up with the Berliner Wasser Betriebe (BWB), three Berlin universities, the state of Berlin and various consulting and engineering companies.

Companies

  • Montgomery Watson and Harza to merge

    TWO OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST ENGINEERING COMPANIES have announced their intention to join forces.

  • Vivendi’s view of the US market

    In 1999, Vivendi acquired USFilter and gained a strategic position in the North American industrial and municipal outsourcing business. The company also gained access to USFilter’s extensive range of water equipment and technology. Nearly 18 months on Andy Seidel, president and COO of Vivendi Water North America, talks to Peter Allison about the US municipal market, the industrial outsourcing business and the future ownership of Vivendi Environnement.

Market insight

  • The evolution of e-water markets

    E-commerce is revolutionising the way we do business. Everything from books, to electricity, to business services are bought and sold on the Internet. So why not water, asks Clay Landry of the Political Economy Research Center (PERC)?

Performer of the month

  • Mixed fortunes in a turbulent month

    October proved a month of some volatility in the water industry, with shares on both sides of the Atlantic effected. In the UK, shares of the major water companies rose broadly at first, dropped sharply in the middle of the month, rising dramatically again, only to end the month close to where they started.