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Press releases, Paris, France, 09/11/2000
 Timisoara selects Lyonnaise des Eaux to manage water and wastewater services
The municipal authorities of Timisoara (Romania) have selected Lyonnaise des Eaux (Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux Group) for the future management of the town's 25 year water and wastewater concession contract. Situated in the West of Romania, this project concerns 400 000 inhabitants and benefits from a development programme directly negotiated with the full involvement of EBRD and independent consulting firms.
According to standard international practice, this contract will take effect upon approval by the European Commission and Romanian regulatory authorities. The municipal water company, which has over 1,000 employees and registered revenues of 15 million Euros last year, will be transformed into a joint stock company. Lyonnaise des Eaux will take a 51% stake in this company by contributing 6 million Euros to its capital increase. The remaining 49 % stake will be owned by the Local Council of Timisoara.
The investment programme amounts to 100 million Euros which will be phased over the concession duration to restore networks and well-fields, construct a sewage treatment plant and drinking water plants and to extend networks. The investment programme will be financed by an EBRD loan and may be granted financial support from IPSA (Instruments for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession). Such loans are only available to countries that occupy candidate status for the European Union.
Gérard Payen, CEO of Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux Water Division, stated: "The Municipality of Timisoara has entrusted us with a challenging mission: achieving European environmental and quality standards for its water and wastewater infrastructures. We intend to use substantial technical and financial resources to meet this challenge and are honoured to assist Romania in its quest for efficiently managed water systems".
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