Vol 8, Issue 4 (April 2007)

Need to know

• CONFERENCE SEASON

  * The momentum seems to have really picked up on the conference circuit, with organisers fighting for delegates’ attention as the themes on offer at rival events seem equally alluring.

• EVEN-HANDED

  * ACS Cobra Tedagua has won the contract to build the 27,000m³/d Denia plant (see desalination tracker).

• FALLEN ANGELS

  * US sewer rehabilitation specialist Insituform alarmed its investors at the end of March with a warning that it wasn’t seeing any growth in its core market.

• FRENCH MANOEUVRES

  * The big story this month is the pending sale of Saur to Séché, the solid waste specialist led by Joël Séché and backed by Caisse des Dépôts, the government-controlled banking group.

• GE GOES ON TOUR

  * GE Water & Process Technologies has announced that it is embarking on a World Water Tour, in order to bring industrial water users together with water industry experts to focus on the challenges facing the global industrial water market.

• HYFLUX SPRINGS FORWARD

  * Hyflux has been on the advance again, announcing that its wholly-owned subsidiary Newspring Utility Pte Ltd. has won four new BOT contracts in China worth a total of RMB253 million ($32.7 million).

Analysis

• A bold step forward

  Christopher Gasson on managing change in the global water sector.

• How big is the global water market? - CHART

  The size of the global water market is a perennial puzzle.

• Insight – David Lloyd Owen

  The numbers game.

General

• A fluent finish at Harnaschpolder

  The Delfluent consortium has completed the greenfield WWTP at Harnaschpolder five months ahead of schedule. The introduction of reuse could be the next step.

• Agbar boss: Spain could learn from the UK

  Agbar’s director-general Ángel Simón discusses strategy with Richard Weyndling, and outlines the challenges his company faces both at home and abroad.

• Anglian continues to leverage up

  RBS has continued its run of structuring credit-enhanced bond issues for UK water companies. Anglian is the latest to take advantage of the offer.

• Aqualia to continue its Eastern European expansion

  Following its acquisition of SmVaK, the Spanish firm wants to use its Prague office to penetrate further into eastern Europe. Katka Krosnar reports.

• Asia Environment continues to build Chinese BOT franchise

  The Singapore-listed company is returning to the equity market to fund its frantic BOT activity. It already has a bulging backlog.

• Australia’s water core faces uncertainty

  The Murray-Darling Basin is at the centre of Australia’s national water initiative. Co-operation amongst its fragmented stakeholders will be the key to its future.

• Brisbane desal project still has hurdles to clear

  A question mark remains over whether a second desalination plant will ever be built to serve south-east Queensland. The need, at least, has been recognised.

• Chinese desal turns green

  The Chinese are realising that the growth of their desalination industry should be matched by environmental stewardship.

• Chinese tax reform to affect foreign water companies

  China is ending its tax incentives for foreign enterprises, which will level the playing field in the water sector. China editor Kathy Liu reports.

• “Four pillars” to underpin UK housing growth

  The Environment Agency has set out its vision for the development of sustainable housing in SE England. It is taking a long-term view on water and sewerage infrastructure.

• French keep a firm grip on Saur

  PAI looks to have made a tidy profit from the sale of Saur, two years after buying the company for just under €1 billion. Did the winning consortium pay over the odds?

• Gelsenwasser to stand firm on EU rules change

  The German operator has made its stance clear in the fight to win public water and wastewater concessions.

• Iran needs desalination to fuel economic growth

  Iran needs an additional 1.27 million m³/d of desalination capacity by 2015. How will the private sector react?

• Libya readies itself for Tobruk launch

  Libya needs to diversify its water supply, and address the pressing need for additional capacity. It is lining up four power and water plants with a total desalination capacity of over 1 million m³/d.

• Life after Barcelona

  Alison Ireland enjoys a well-deserved break in the Lake District.

• Macquarie eyes wastewater opportunities in US market

  With the Aquarion deal now in the bag, Macquarie has been busy chasing further additions to its US infrastructure portfolio.

• Mixed bag of results from Brazil

  After strong gains in 2006, Brazil’s water stocks have made little progress in 2007. The results tell the story.

• Morocco gears up for first desalination PSP

  Morocco’s Office National de L’Eau Potable has chosen Agadir for its first privately financed desalination project.

• Municipal utilities qualify for Riyadh contract

  Saudi Arabia is looking for expertise rather than money. It has proved an interesting proposition for outward-looking municipal utilities.

• New directions in infrastructure finance

  Faced by a yawning funding gap, the EPA is leading the initiative to take water infrastructure financing into the 21st century. Kathy Shandling reports.

• New Zagreb bond to fund water and wastewater rehabilitation

  The EBRD is looking to build on the success of the 2005 Bydgoszcz bond by supporting a new €260 million issue for the city of Zagreb in Croatia.

• Queensland’s strategy in the spotlight

  Queensland’s new Water Commissioner is doing her bit to streamline the management of the State’s water resources. There is no short-term fix, as Max Borchardt discovers.

• Spanish water reforms in pipeline

  Planned changes will tax agriculture and industry while regulating water reuse. Are they just a dumbed-down copy of the failed “eco-tax” proposals?

• Suez and la Caixa move to secure control of Agbar

  Agbar’s main shareholders are looking to eliminate the risk of a hostile takeover bid by seizing control of the company. It seems the deal is something of a fait accompli.

• Suez and Veolia exiled by Eau de Paris

  France’s two major water companies have been ousted from Eau de Paris’ shareholder structure. Emmanuel Adler finds that the real test is yet to come.

• Tel Aviv to receive $300 million sewerage upgrade

  Sludge disposal is a key feature of a new five-year plan to improve Tel Aviv’s sewage infrastructure.

• Tideway tunnel could generate cost overflow

  The Thames Tideway project has been given the green light. The main sticking point is the £2 billion price tag.

• Ulster escapes charges – for now

  The decision to delay the implementation of water charges in Northern Ireland means self-financing is as distant as ever.

Brief

• IN BRIEF – AMERICAS

  * ITT Corporation intends to cease trading on the London Stock Exchange with effect from 14 May, due to low trading volumes. Global liquidity will be maintained through the company’s primary listing on the NYSE, and a secondary listing on Euronext.

• IN BRIEF – EASTERN EUROPE

  * French environmental consultant Sogreah has cemented its presence in Romania by acquiring a majority stake in Bucharest-based consultancy firm Enviro-Asist.

• IN BRIEF – EUROPE

  * Saur’s Stereau division has won a €14 million contract to build a treatment unit for the sludge and effluent produced by the drinking water plant at Méry-sur-Oise, which supplies 173,000m³/d of water to 800,000 inhabitants north of Paris.

• IN BRIEF – MIDDLE EAST

  * Doosan Heavy Industries and Siemens are set to scoop the 272,765m³/d (60 MIGD) MSF & 500MW Shuaiba North power and water plant in Kuwait.