Field narrows as SEDIF contract war heats up

Only Veolia and Suez Environnement now remain in the race for France’s largest water management contract, serving 4 million people in the Ile-de-France region.

Four companies pre-qualified for the contract last year, and although Saur submitted a proposal before the 4th December deadline, the company subsequently withdrew its offer. The big news came at the end of January, however, when the other contender, a grouping of French services operator Derichebourg and German concessionaire Remondis Aqua, was disqualified for having submitted an incomplete proposal.

The consortium has two months in which to appeal against the judgment, and with each bidder having spent upwards of €4 million on preparing its final proposal, it may well be worth putting up a fight.

A final decision on the contract winner will be taken in late May, with the prices offered by the two remaining bidders ultimately determining the duration of the contract.