Vol 4, Issue 5 (May 2003)

Need to know

CORPORATE
France: Vivendi Environnement announced its new name. The company is now called Veolia Environnement (still VE for short) after the mythological character Aeolus – keeper of the winds.
DEALS
Abu Dhabi: The consortium led by the UK’s International Power (IP) signed the project agreements for the Umm Al Nar power and water plant.
INVESTMENT
Panama: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed an agreement to invest up to $15 million in the Biwater subsidiary, Aguas de Panama.
PUBLICATIONS
United States: Lone Oak Publishing announced the release of a new book entitled Desalination.com by Tom Pankratz of CH2M Hill and John Tonner of Water Consultants International.
TENDERS
Colombia: Empresa de Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Bogota (EAAB) – the city of Bogota’s water company – opened a bidding process for the procurement and implementation of a data acquisition, supervisory and information control system for Bogota’s water supply and sewerage network.

Analysis

Private water and wild-eyed taxi drivers
The outlook for minority shareholders in state-controlled water companies may not be as bad as it seems.

General

AWG: is WestLB running out of steam?
AWG rejected an improved offer from WestLB last month, citing concerns over the German bank’s ownership of Mid Kent Water.
Bechtel to divide up Iraq reconstruction work
Non-US companies will be able to work as subcontractors in Iraq.
Cagece signs Fortaleza contract
Agreement between city and state is possible.
Consultants selected for Saudi IWPPs
Three groups have been appointed to prepare the bid documents for dual-purpose power and water plants at Shoaiba and Shuqaiq.
Dayen to pursue Chinese opportunities
In conjunction with the local SAC General Products.
Earth Tech selected for Phoenix DBO
City council approval of the deal was granted at the end of last month.
IP seeks Umm Al Nar funds
An International Power consortium is aiming to raise around $1.2 billion of non-recourse project finance debt to fund Abu Dhabi’s Umm Al Nar plant.
Lithuanian water restructuring
The water sector is to be reorganised into five regional companies in an effort to attract foreign investors.
Mekorot completes $140 million bond issue
The funds are needed for new projects to meet the growing demand for water.
New Orleans O&M deal back on
A draft RFP is available and will be formally released at the end of May.
Price hike pending in Berlin
Berliner Wasserbetriebe is negotiating a deal with the city council to raise prices from 2004.
Russian management consulting role for Mott MacDonald
In a project with the UK's Severn Trent Water International.
Sabesp faces challenge for control
The city of São Paulo claims that Sabesp is using income from billing its residents to subsidise investment elsewhere in the state. Sabesp denies this.
SR6 billion for Saudi water sector
The Kingdom has allocated the budget for water projects in 2003.
State government versus state capital control
The São Paulo case raises broader issues about the level of city and state control.
Vivendi in Malaysian project to recycle wastewater
The company is working on a venture to introduce membrane technology to recycle sewage - as Singapore has done at its NEWater plants.