Suez has been selected to operate the entire sewer network and wastewater treatment plants in Lucknow for 10 years
Image: Suez to manage sewage treatment plants in Lucknow. Photo: Courtesy of Hermann Hammer/Pixabay
French environmental services provider Suez has won a €98.3m ($108.5m) contract to manage the entire sewer network and wastewater treatment plants in Lucknow, the capital city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with 2.8 million inhabitants.
The contract has a duration of 10 years, during which time, Suez will operate and maintain 1.6km of sewer network, three wastewater treatment plants, and eight sewage pumping stations.
The objective of the project is to improve the water quality of Gomti River, a tributary of the Ganges, where the wastewater flowing into the river is treated.
The contract is part of the Ganges Clean-Up programme
The contract is part of the Ganges Clean-Up programme (Namami Ganga) which aims to improve the quality of water in the river and its tributaries by stopping the discharge of untreated wastewater from cities along the rivers.
Suez claims that it is the first time in India, that the entire sewer infrastructure in a city will be operated by a single service provider.
The city of Lucknow has eight major wastewater pumping stations feeding to three wastewater treatment plants with 14 000 m³/day, 42 000 m³/day, and 345,000 m³/day capacities. In order to optimise the maintenance of the 1.6km underground sewer network, Suez will implement a fully mechanised network cleaning system, for the first time in the country.
The company will also use its real-time network operation service, with latest innovations for Advanced Asset Management, Inspection and Emergency Response planning.
Ana Giros Calpe international and industrial key accounts senior executive vice president said: “Protecting water sources (rivers, streams, groundwater…) from pollution caused by the discharge of untreated wastewater is a major health and environmental challenge in India.
“We are proud to be associated with State Mission for Clean Ganga Lucknow and Uttar Pradesh State in their will to provide better sanitation services to the city’s 2.8 million residents.
“This contract allows us to offer local authorities a new service, that is crucial for the preservation of the natural environment and the long-term future of the urban lifestyle.”
In July, the company secured a contract worth €145m from Delhi Jal Board, the authority in charge of water management in New Delhi, the capital city of India.
The contract is to build and operate a wastewater treatment plant with a capacity of 564,000m³/day at Okhla, South of New Delhi.