Vol 3, Issue 1 (January 2002)
Analysis
- A word from the Editor
Welcome to the January 2002 edition of Global Water Intelligence. Our main focus this month is on the Newly Independent States (NIS). High-level representatives from NIS water authorities and international private water companies met in Kiev last year as part of the OECD’s Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe.
General
- Brasilia plans 100% service coverage this year
THE BRASILIA FEDERAL DISTRICT WATER COMPANY, Caesb, is to invest R$145.3 million (US$62 million) in 2002.
- Californian water agency planning bond issue
THE BOARD OF THE CALIFORNIAN METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT has backed a plan to launch a $3.4 billion water bond to fund water supply, coastal and wetland resource projects throughout the state. The bond will be subject to voter approval in a November 2002 ballot.
- Casan share sale flops
THE SALE OF A 19.3% STAKE in Santa Catarina’s state water company, Companhia Catarinense de Agua e Saneamento (Casan) failed to attract interest at the end of last year.
- Compesa shares to go on sale
BRAZIL’S FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK, Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF), is to put its 30% stake in Pernambuco state water company, Companhia de Saneamento de Pernambuco (Compesa), up for sale.
- Desal costs on the decline
THE COST OF DESALINATED WATER IS LIKELY TO FALL as more desalination plants become operational and energy, capital and maintenance costs decrease, according to Dr Pinhas Glickstern, a consultant at Mekorot Water Company.
- Eon trying for Saur again
EON IS THOUGHT TO BE MAKING ANOTHER BID to enter the global water market, a year after it admitted defeat in its attempt to acquire Saur (see GWI, Vol. 1, Issue 7, p.5)
- France: policy and investment
Legislation aimed at reform of French water policy has had its first reading in the National Assembly but has no chance of formal adoption before the end of the parliamentary session in February. This means that it will be up to the next administration to decide whether or not to push ahead with the legal programme.
- Funds for Colombian water utilities
THE COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT has allocated around $13 million to increase water treatment facilities and improve water services provided by nearly 40 utilities.
- Lebanon’s legacy of conflict
Following the end of the civil war in the early 1990s, the Lebanese government embarked on a widespread development scheme to rebuild the country’s basic infrastructure. Sixteen years of conflict left Lebanon with virtually no water or sewage treatment facilities. However, since the end of hostilities financial and managerial constraints on the Lebanese public sector have hindered the government’s attempts to rehabilitate and expand facilities damaged during the war.
- Mott MacDonald to act as technical advisor in Sofia
MOTT MACDONALD has been appointed technical advisor by the EBRD to monitor the disbursement of a €31 million loan to Sofiyska Voda.
- SA: privatisation hangs in the balance
South Africa is undoubtedly the most attractive market in Africa for water sector investment. This is not only because of the potential profits to be made within the country itself but also because it is a gateway to much of the rest of the continent. South African corporates, such as power company Eskom, are already establishing themselves in the region but there is as yet no comparable water utility based in Africa.
- Sama to tender sewage concession
Saneamento Basico de Mauá (Sama), the municipal water company of Mauá in Greater São Paulo, launched a tender for a 30-year sewage treatment concession last month.
- Thames buys EDP’s stake in Essel
RWE THAMES WATER acquired a majority stake in the Chilean water utility, Essel, at the end of last year by buying out the 25.5% stake held by Electricidade de Portugal (EDP). Thames paid EDP $70 million for the shareholding, to give it an overall 51% stake in Essel.
- The Awali-Beirut project
The proposed Awali-Beirut water conveyer consists of: ► a raw water tunnel running from an abstraction point to the El Ouardaniya WTW; ► a tunnel for treated water from the treatment works to Khalde located in the south of Beirut; ► transmission mains from the tunnel outlet at Khalde to a distribution chamber and on to a storage tank at Hadath; ► a transmission main to a storage tank at Hashmieh for connecting to the existing transmission/distribution system.
- The NIS: a slow process of change
Legal and institutional weaknesses in the Newly Independent States (NIS) are preventing the transformation of water utilities into autonomous and commercially run entities. While some notable sector reforms have occurred, the process of change from the command economy approach to commercial management has been slow.
- UN allocates funds for Iraqi water sector
The Iraqi government estimates that $700 million will be required for new water, wastewater and sanitation projects with a further $150 million to complete current work on improving water supplies in Baghdad.
- US water sector offers improved prospects
The new look GWI now includes a section for contributed feature articles where industry experts write on some of the issues influencing the industry. To start off, Avalon Trust’s Owen Quattlebaum discusses US market issues.
- Zagreb wastewater financing finalised
Financing for the €300 million Zagreb WwTP was finalised in December between the German-Croatian project company, Zagrebac˘ke Otpadne Vode (ZOV) and the KfW.
Performer of the month
- A verdict on 2001
December marked the end of a roller coaster year for the international water sector. Several companies experienced notable success while others were happy to hear the sound of the year’s final trading bell. The year 2001 brought the end of one of the longest running bull markets in history and the arrival of a global economic slowdown. For the global water industry, consolidation and mergers continued to drive sector performance.
