Veolia Wins China Contracts Worth $971M

Veolia Environnement SA has won contracts worth $971 million to provide drinking water to nearly 3 million people in China, furthering its push into Asia, the French utilities firm said Tuesday.

Veolia's water division signed a $737 million, 30-year contract to supply water to the city of Hohhot. Located in northern China's Inner Mongolia region, Hohhot is home to about 2.5 million people.

In a separate deal worth approximately $233 million in revenue over 22 years, Veolia will expand and operate a water plant in the eastern city of Weinan.

Veolia Water already supplies drinking water to the nearby town of Baoji and provincial capital Xian.

Since 2002, the French group has won contracts worth about $25 billion in projected revenue for water treatment and supply in central and eastern China, as well as for waste management services by its Onyx division.

Source: The Associated Press