Vol 11, Issue 4 (April 2010)

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Need to know

  • DECOY

    Wall Street’s leading water analyst Debra Coy has left Janney Montgomery Scott to set up as an independent consultant.

  • FRAMEWORKING

    Ministers from 43 Euro-Mediterranean countries have failed to reach agreement on the proposed Strategy for Water in the Mediterranean.

  • IPO FEVER

    * The stock market recovery has sparked IPO fever. In the past month, Chongqing Water has floated on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, VA Tech Wabag has filed its prospectus for an initial public offering on the Bombay Stock Exchange, Beijing Origin is moving ahead with its IPO, while Kemira has spun off its paints division to focus on its water treatment business.

  • PRIVATE DESAL

    * Kuwait has appointed financial, legal and technical consultants for its first independent water and power project (IWPP)

  • PUBLIC FINANCES

    * The Chilean government is considering selling its remaining water assets in order to raise money to pay for reconstruction after the earthquake

  • VEOLIA’S NEW FRIENDS

    * Former chief executive Henri Proglio has announced that he will step down as chairman of Veolia Environnement by the end of the year.

Analysis

General

  • A new chapter for Euro-Med

    Spain’s water chief Marta Morén was instrumental in formulating Euro- Med’s water strategy. She spoke to GWI about her hopes for the future.

  • A new look for desal in Tobruk

    An April tender could make 2010 the year that Libya’s new desalination initiative takes off. Uncertainty still clouds the overarching financing strategy.

  • ADB’s debut water bond lacks liquidity

    A new bond issue from the Asian Development Bank does not necessarily mean extra funding for the water sector. Is it a case of nomen non est omen?

  • An integrated approach to laying pipelines

    Indian pipe manufacturer Welspun has moved along the value chain by buying up an EPC contractor. Rama Rastogi looks at how vertical integration could prove pivotal in India’s burgeoning infrastructure sector.

  • BNPP consortium takes Kuwaiti advisory contract

    The preparatory process for Kuwait’s first IWPP will determine the path for the wider adoption of the model in the country’s water and power sector. The choice of advisory team was crucial.

  • Brackish desal to save Israeli aquifer

    Agricultural run-off is threatening Israel’s southern coastal aquifer. Desalting the leachate will mean extra supplies for the National Water Carrier.

  • Building confidence to finance the largest projects

    The world is a brighter place for financiers than it was 12 months ago, but future power and water deals remain a subject of concern for many.

  • Chinese investors lap up Chongqing Water IPO

    Following its March listing, Chongqing Water Group is now the largest quoted water company in China. It was a triumphant return to form for home-grown water IPOs.

  • CORFO considers asset sales

    The Chilean economic development agency may sell its strategic stakes in the country’s top three water utilities to fund post-earthquake rebuilding.

  • Defining Libya’s broader water strategy

    Since its establishment in 2009, the General People’s Committee of Utilities has wasted no time in pressing ahead with major management contracts.

  • DEWA’s runaway bond success

    DEWA looks to have gone for price rather than size on its new bond issue. The deal is an important step towards restoring faith in Dubai’s credit story.

  • Europe’s water ambitions face reality check

    A lack of uniformity in the presentation of river basin management plans could hamper efforts to realise the goals of the Water Framework Directive. Nadia Weekes reports from Brussels.

  • Home advantage holds the key for Zulal

    With industrial references stretching to the remotest corners of Libya, Zulal Water Technology is eyeing bigger prizes in both the municipal and industrial sectors.

  • Israel blocks Mediterranean water strategy

    The adoption of a new water strategy for the Mediterranean region has stalled at the eleventh hour. It is more than just a re-working of the Water Framework Directive.

  • Just say no. . .

    Emma Welsh reflects on the success of the Global Water Summit, and the difficulties of saying no.

  • Libya weighs up its water supply options

    Libya is facing a water supply deficit of 11 million m3/d by 2025. Adam Heffill reports from Tripoli on how the government plans to meet the challenge.

  • Libya’s $11 billion water lifeline

    Sixteen years after the Great Manmade River delivered its first water, the construction of the 4,000km network is at last nearing completion.

  • NWC adds TSE to wastewater spin-off plan

    Saudi Arabia’s major wastewater treatment plants could be packaged with ambitious water reuse schemes and offered to the private sector. It is an important new direction in the Kingdom’s water resourcing policy.

  • PABs bill hinges on Senate vote

    The removal of state caps on private activity bonds has moved a step closer

  • Report criticises Aussie water buyback scheme

    The Australian government’s approach to saving the Murray-Darling Basin has been questioned in a new independent report. Max Borchardt asks whether the whole thing was simply a piece of early electioneering.

  • Report reveals Israel’s crisis of confidence

    A damning new report has laid the blame for Israel’s water crisis at the feet of the Water Authority and a trio of government ministries. Who will bankroll Mekorot’s proposed solution?

  • Solving the burning question of Russia’s wastewater sludge

    Rostov-on-Don will become the second city in Russia to incinerate 100% of its sludge. A new contract marks Degrémont’s entry into a growing sector.

  • Spanish ombudsman criticises legislation

    A damning new report catalogues a series of deficiencies in the protection of water resources in Spain. It was published on the eve of an international water strategy summit in Barcelona.

  • UK water outsourcing market matures

    Most of the UK water and sewerage companies have finalised their outsourcing plans for AMP5. Fewer contractors are getting a bigger slice of the pie.

  • Wabag hints at summer IPO timetable

    The Chennai-based EPC contractor has filed for a partial IPO. The document throws new light on the vulnerability of the company’s revenues.

  • Water index returns to pre-crash levels

    Steady rises in all segments of the GWI water index this month have taken the benchmark to its highest level since August 2008. IPO activity in Asia bodes well for the sector’s perception amongst regional equity investors.

  • Who will do what in AMP5?

    Anglian Water: £2,122 million

Brief

  • AMERICAS WATER IN BRIEF

    *Agbar subsidiary Aquagest Solutions has won a three-year contract to manage the commercial activities of Sedapal, which provides water and wastewater services to 8 million inhabitants in Lima, Peru. The contract, covering metering and customer relations, is Agbar’s first in the country.

  • EUROPE WATER NEWS IN BRIEF

    * On 26 March, the Italian Senate gave the final go-ahead to a law abolishing optimum territorial areas (ATOs) in charge of water and wastewater services

  • MIDDLE EAST WATER NEWS IN BRIEF

    * MWH is selling its interest in Jordanbased MWH Arabtech Jardaneh (MWHAJ) to partner Arabtech Jardaneh. MWHAJ, previously part of the LEMA JV whose water and wastewater management contract in Amman expired on 31 December 2006, has been renamed AJ Water & Environment. MWH will continue its operations in Jordan and the Middle East independently.

Companies

Market insight

  • The year tomorrow never came

    Slow growth in 2009 has failed to dampen optimism about the future of outsourcing water and wastewater services to private operators in the US. Emily Pickrell introduces GWI's 2009 contract ops survey.