French environmental services provider Suez has secured two contracts in the State of Karnataka to implement 24/7 water supply in the cities of Udupi and Puttur.
Image: Suez to implement 24/7 water supply in two Indian cities. Photo: Courtesy of Stefan Wogrin/FreeImages.com.
Suez noted these two contracts are for a term of 12 years and are worth €27m in total. These contracts are estimated to provide continuous 24/7 water supply to over 200,000 inhabitants.
The two contracts are part of the Investment Program launched in 2014 by the Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for implementing 24×7 drinking water supply in cities of Karnataka State.
Cities in Karnataka, especially Udupi and Puttur have been seeing significant growth in population in the recent times, which has led to increasing need for drinking water and treatment infrastructure.
In Udupi, Suez has been given the responsibility of rehabilitating the existing water production plant and to upgrade and rehabilitate the existing distribution networks and house service connections.
The works phase will last for 4 years, followed by an eight-year period of operation and maintenance of the infrastructure to ensure 24/7 drinking water supply to the inhabitants of Udupi.
In Puttur, Suez will rehabilitate the drinking water distribution system (pump station, reservoirs, network, house service connections, meters, valves, etc). The 3 year construction phase will be followed by a nine year operation and maintenance phase for the water infrastructure.
Suez Africa, Middle East, India, Asia and Australia group senior executive vice president Bertrand Camus said: “Drinking water distribution contracts in India are shifting progressively towards water management services for a whole city, as illustrated by the last contracts won by Suez in Coimbatore, Davanagere, and now in Udupi and Puttur.
“India is a dynamic market for the Group and we are proud to join the local authorities’ initiatives to ensure 24X7 water supply to a rapidly growing population.”
Last month, the company had won a contract in French Toulouse Métropole to manage the wastewater public service for the next 12 years. Under the contract worth €520m, the company will manage all 17 wastewater treatment plants and 3700km of wastewater networks in the Métropole’s 37 municipalities.