Veolia Environnement SA, the world's largest water company, said it aims
to supply and treat water for as many as 50 million people in China in 10 years,
as the country continues to overhaul its networks.
Veolia should be able to add two to three contracts covering 3 million people
a year, Antoine Frerot, chief executive officer of the company's water unit said
in Beijing late yesterday. The Paris-based Veolia already manages water systems,
including supply and waste treatment, for 18.7 million people in China.
Veolia and rival Suez SA have invested a combined 1 billion euros (US$1.27
billion) in China¡¯s urban water treatment and distribution systems since the
government opened the market to foreign companies in 2002. China has pledged to
spend US$125 billion cleaning up its scarce water supplies by 2010, as well as
upgrading water systems to cope with rapid urbanization.
"If we make the assumption that the market will stay bullish, and I think it
will, we can hope to stay at the same speed of growth" of two to three contracts
a year, Frerot, 48, said. Veolia will continue to increase investment in China
by about 25 percent a year over the next decade, the CEO said.
The company has spent 500 million euros in China and secured contracts in
cities including the capital Beijing, Shenzhen and the Pudong region of
Shanghai, said Frerot, who heads Veolia Water.
Last week, Veolia signed its 19th contract in China, to upgrade and manage
waste water treatment and water distribution services over the next 30 years in
Liuzhou City, which has a population of 1 million, in Guangxi.
The company supplies water to about 110 million people and trash recycling
for some 74 million. It has expanded its water business to the U.K. and in
central Europe and was interested in buying the water assets of rival Suez.
Veolia will also pursue contracts to install waste water treatment equipment
in factories as more industrial polluters try to comply with government
environmental protection guidelines, Frerot said.
"We¡¯re not only interested in municipal customers. We're also interested in
serving industries that are using large quantities of water and polluting," he
said. ¡°The rules and regulations are getting stronger, forcing them to treat
waste water properly.¡¯¡¯
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