Suez forms JV with Chinese entities for industrial wastewater treatment in Jiangsu Province

Sino French Water, the subsidiary under French utility Suez Environnement, has signed an agreement with Changshu Urban Construction and the Changshu Advanced Materials Industrial Park (CAMIP) to form a joint venture in China for industrial wastewater treatment.

Under the terms of the agreement, the new JV will be treating effluents produced at the CAMIP which is located in Jiangsu Province.

CAMIP will have a majority stake of 50% in the JV, with Sino French Water holding 24.5% interest and Changshu Sino French with Changshu Urban Construction holding 25.5% together.

Suez expects the contract to generate €354m as revenue for the next ten years.

The JV is aimed at expanding the industrial park’s effluent treatment station with a new unit construction that will double its treatment capacity.

The expansion unit is expected to be commissioned in early 2017 and will have a daily capacity of 10,000m³.

Changshu Sino French will be responsible for management and operation of both the existing and new units for 30 years.

The wastewater treatment plant will serve around 55 industrial customers in the park, including DuPont, Daikin, Arkema and Kureha, and the 20,000 households in the expanding Fushan residential zone.

Suez Environnement International senior executive vice-president Marie-Ange Debon said: "SUEZ has been successfully developing its activities in the Changshu region since 2006, with the support of local partners.

"Initially our collaboration covered the supply of drinking water to the 2.3 million inhabitants of Changshu city, but has gradually expanded to include wastewater treatment and the management of industrial water.

"Together with our partners, we hope to speed up the development of our activities while supporting the local authorities and industrial manufacturers to reach their environmental targets."