- The contract represents around 750 million euro in revenues.
A consortium comprised of Mexico's ICA and Aqualia, FCC's subsidiary specialised in end-to-end water management, has been awarded the contract to supply drinking water to El Realito, Mexico; the project includes designing, building, financing and operating a drinking water treatment plant for 25 years. The contract represents almost 750 million euro in revenues.
The project, which will cost over 130 million euro, includes: a plant that will treat more than 86 million litres of drinking water daily; a 132-km aqueduct to transport the water from Santa María River to the states of San Luis Potosí and Guanajuato, supplying 850,000 people; three pumping stations; a buffer reservoir; five treated water reservoirs; access roads; four electric power substations; and a communications and control system.
The San Luis Potosí State Commission of Water, which heads the project, selected the Aqualia/ICA bid over other bidders such as Degrémont (France), Befesa (Spain) and Ideal and Makro (Mexico).
The project is expected to begin in January 2010, and the first two years will focus on the construction of water infrastructure. FCC Construcción, Aqualia Infraestructuras and Proactiva Mexico will build and operate the infrastructure.
This contract will strengthen Aqualia's position in Mexico, which is a key country in the company's growth and internationalisation strategy; in just a few years, Aqualia's extensive experience in PPP projects has made it a benchmark company in the various areas where it operates. Since 2007, Aqualia has been working on the Aqueduct II project in Querétaro, the country's largest waterwork since the 18th century.
The company is also strengthening its foothold in other countries. It was recently awarded the contract to design, build, finance and operate the New Cairo sewage treatment plant, in Cairo (Egypt), which will treat 250 million litres/day and serve more than one million people. The company also has two contracts in the Algerian cities of Mostaganem and Cap Djinet, where it is building two of the largest desalination plants on the continent.
Aqualia is a leading private water management company in Central and Eastern Europe, where it serves more than 1.2 million people in the Czech Republic and Poland.
Aqualia manages more than 300 water treatment plants worldwide (Spain, the Czech Republic and Portugal, etc.) that treat more than 400 million cubic metres of waste water each year and ensure it returns to the environment under optimal conditions, which is crucial for the sustainable development of cities and a fundamental part of the comprehensive water cycle.
The company recently signed a four-year 80 million euro agreement with the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction (EBDR) to upgrade water management systems in Central and Eastern Europe through direct investment in infrastructure and through acquiring stakes in water services companies.
Aqualia, which ended 2008 with revenues of 845 million euro and a backlog of almost 12 billion euro, remains committed to expanding abroad; it currently operates in the Czech Republic, Portugal, Italy, Algeria, China and Mexico, and serves more than 26 million people worldwide.
FCC entered the water management business in 1990, and in less than two decades it has become one of the world's leading companies in the sector.
In Spain, Aqualia has a 34% share of the outsourced water management market. The company provides water services in 1,100 municipalities to more than 13 million people. In 2007, Aqualia was named "Water Company of the Year" by prestigious international magazine Global Water Intelligence, a fitting tribute to its track record and international scope. It was also awarded the Customer Service Leadership of the Year award by prestigious UK consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
