Vivendi Environnement, through its subsidiary Vivendi Water and leader of a consortium made up of ONA, Morocco's largest private company, SOMED, Moroccan-uae company, and HydroQuébec, has won two tenders to operate the water and electricity distribution services, and liquid wastewater services for the local authorities of Tangiers and Tétouan. The areas consist of Tangiers and Tétouan urban areas and surrounding districts. In total, there are 23 districts with 1.2 million inhabitants.
These contracts were awarded following an international invitation to tender.
The two 25-year concessions will generate revenues of 105 million euros for the consortium from the first year (66 million euros for Tangiers and 39 million euros for Tétouan). Revenues of 130 million euros from the sixth year are forecast for both urban areas.
Under the terms of both concessions, the consortium will be responsible for the development, rehabilitation and upgrading of the water and electricity distribution and wastewater system infrastructure. The latter will be the priority focus for both areas as it is particularly important for their development.
The consortium will also develop, improve and upgrade services by: developing infrastructure to keep pace with the demographic growth of both urban areas; extending the population's access to services; reducing water leaks and energy losses; strengthening the quality and efficiency of service offered to the population; collecting and draining storm water; modernizing operation methods; and monitoring the quality of water distributed.
All the employees of the new operating structure (around 2000 people) will be given extensive training at the same time as the services are being upgraded.
As gateways to Europe, Tangiers and Tétouan have many assets that make them one of Morocco's most promising regions, with prospects for strong growth. The project is part of a movement to develop the Northern Provinces of Morocco.
These two contracts strengthen Vivendi Environnement's presence in North Africa. Subsidiary Onyx, the number three worldwide in waste management, has already won contracts in its sector in the Moroccan towns of Fès, Oujda and Agadir.
Vivendi Water, a subsidiary of Vivendi Environnement and the global leader in water services, combines all the activities of Générale des Eaux and USFilter. It serves more than 100 million customers in over 100 countries, and has more than 67,000 employees.
Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: difficulty in integrating acquisitions, inability to identify, develop and achieve success for new products, services and technologies; and increased competition and its effect on pricing, spending, third-party relationships and revenue. Vivendi Universal does not undertake any obligation to provide updates or to revise any forward-looking statements. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of documents filed by Vivendi Universal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov or directly from Vivendi Universal.
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