The five-year management contract will start on April 1st, 2001. It will cover the City’s six municipal water and wastewater structures brought into one single utility organization – Johannesburg Water. It comprises the management of water and wastewater services, billing and customer services as well as extensive training and capital expenditure programs.

The main objectives of the contract are to improve the services provided to customers, the City’s infrastructure, and local environment, and to deliver a fully operational and sustainable utility organization at the close of the contract.

Key issues involve the provision of adequate water and wastewater services to low income communities, the reduction of non-revenue water and the empowerment and training of previously disadvantaged South African individuals in Johannesburg Water.

City of Johannesburg’s Executive Mayor, Councilor Amos Masondo welcomed the move as part of the city’s overall transformation plan. “ The city and its people will benefit from this partnership. Residents and businesses can in the near future look forward to improved levels of services and a company that is customer orientated”.

Gerard Payen, Chairman and CEO of the Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux Water Division commented: “We look forward to a successful partnership with the city of Johannesburg and to actively contribute in making the city a world-class African metropolis.”

The Johannesburg contract gives a new dimension to Public Private Partnership in South Africa, enhancing the provision of quality water services, community involvement and empowerment.

With a workforce exceeding 2500 employees, Johannesburg’s existing Utility organization has annual sales of Rand 1.3 billion (Euro 200 million) and covers a service area of over 3 million inhabitants, about 0.5 million connections and water and wastewater networks of about 8000 Km length each.

Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux’ subsidiary, Northumbrian Water Group operates in South Africa through its local subsidiary Water and Sanitation Services South Africa (WSSA) a joint venture with Group 5. It runs a 25- year concession in Queenstown and provides water and wastewater services to over 2 million people in the provinces of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape Northern Province and Gauteng.

WSSA also leads in the implementation of the innovative BoTT (Build, Operate, Train and Transfer) projects to supply water services to low income communities in Eastern Cape, and Northern Province, in partnership with South Africa’s Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. WSSA is the first water company in South Africa to be certified with both ISO 9002 and ISO 14001 by SABS.

Lyonnaise des Eaux, world leader in water management services, currently supplies 110 million people with water and wastewater services around the world, including in large cities such as Atlanta, Buenos Aires, Casablanca, Jakarta, Manaus, Manila and Sydney. Lyonnaise des Eaux has experience on the entire water cycle form water resources management, potable water treatment, wastewater treatment and sludge treatment. Lyonnaise des Eaux is a subsidiary of the Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux Group.

Web site : www.suez-lyonnaise.com
Financial web site : www.finance.suez-lyonnaise.com