Suez Environnement wins €1.2bn sanitation contract

France-based utility company Suez Environnement has won a public service sanitation outsourcing contract for the district of Provence Métropole in Marseille (MPM).

The contract includes the collection and treatment of wastewater and the management of urban rainwater for around 900,000 residents in the district and surrounding areas.

Valued at €1.2bn, over €80m will be generated through annual revenues by the contract over a 15-year period. Suez Environnement will invest a total of €60m throughout the duration of the contract.

The company will set up a new management centre to manage the sanitation network. The centre will anticipate, monitor and control the entire sanitation system and its impact on the environment.

A new storm water storage pond will also be built near the Géolide wastewater treatment plant between 2014 and 2017. With a capacity of over 50,000m³, the pond will enable the treatment of waste and rainwater even during periods of heavy rainfall.

Suez Environnement CEO Jean-Louis Chaussade said that the company aims to improve access to beaches for the people of Marseille.

"We are going to build the first sanitation service in France that will manage terrestrial sanitation infrastructure, the impact on the environment and on the host marine environments in real time and simultaneously," he added.

"Service quality, innovation, and a business offer based on performance, governance and guaranteed transparency commitments, under the strict control of the local authority, are the cornerstones of this innovative contract."