On March 30, Coast to Coast Water Ltd. (C2C), a joint venture of Severn Trent and Costain, began providing water and wastewater services to approximately 1,500 of the UK's Ministry of Defense sites in southeastern, eastern and northern England. Known as Project Aquatrine, the work was awarded to C2C last year with the signing of a $1.9 billion, 25-year contract.
Project Aquatrine is the first major public-private partnership in the UK water sector in which water and wastewater services will be provided for a diverse and widely dispersed area outside of the regulated water industry. The contract calls for the transfer of responsibility for the maintenance and operation of the MOD's water and wastewater assets to the private sector while the MOD concentrates on its core defense activities.
Various forms of public-private partnership for water and wastewater systems are being facilitated throughout the U.S. Severn Trent is a leader in this arena, operating facilities under agreements with municipalities at 600 locations. The Project Aquatrine contract, culminated after years of effort, establishes Severn Trent as a major global participant in the advancement of public-private partnerships.
Severn Trent Services chief executive and C2C Chairman Len Graziano said, "While Project Aquatrine is the first partnership of its kind outside the regulated water industry in the United Kingdom, the people of C2C have many years of public-private experience around the world. We're confident that we'll provide excellent value to the Ministry of Defense."
Severn Trent is a leading international environmental services company and the majority partner in the C2C joint venture. The company is in the vanguard of providing water and wastewater technology, equipment, and services to customers worldwide. Costain is an international engineering and construction group that provides asset management within the water sector.
Source: Severn Trent Services