Veolia Water secures operation and maintenance contract in India

Veolia Water India, a subsidiary of Veolia Water, has secured a 25-year contract from the provincial government of the Nagpur city in Maharashtra to provide drinking water to the region.

Under the drinking water service operation and maintenance contract, Veolia Water India will manage drinking water production, treat, transport, storage and distribution.

In a joint venture with civil engineering and services firm Vishvaraj Environment, the company has set up a special purpose entity, Orange City Water (OCW), to provide water services in the city.

As part of the contract, the company will manage an initial five-year works programme to rehabilitate and upgrade the network and connections to homes at a cost of €60m.

The programme will be 70% funded by the Indian government, through the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and Maharashtra State, and 30% by the operator.

OCW will spend €18m on the project to renovate the city’s six water production plants and repair the 2,500km of network.

Managed by OCW, the water system’s production capacity will be about 750 million litres a day and leakage from the network will be lowered to international standards.

The company will set up 24/7 customer service to help users understand their new water consumption habits and how to keep control over their water bills.