Durban Wastewater

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In December 1998, Durban Water Recycling (Pty) Ltd (DWR) won a 20-year build, own, operate, and transfer contract worth R74 million (US$12.6 million) from eThekwini Water Services (EWS), the public water utility in Durban, South Africa. The contract was to modernize the secondary treatment system of the Durban Metro Services wastewater treatment plant and to build a new facility to generate 47,500 m3 per day of reclaimed water. The Durban Metro Area (DMA) covered 1,370 km2, and stretched 72 km along the Indian Ocean and 52 km inland. The population was approximately three million. At operational capacity the reclamation plant was to meet 7% of the city's potable water demand and reduce the city's treated wastewater output by 10%. The plant was to supply lower cost, high quality water to the Mondi Paper mill, Sapref Refinery and Sasol textile factory. The potable water that was previously drawn by these industrial consumers was to be made available for redistribution to previously disadvantaged, peri-urban communities, extending water supply to up to 220,000 households in the greater Durban area. The French company Omnium de Traitement et de Valorisation SA (OTV), a subsidiary of Vivendi Group (known as Veolia Environnement as of May 2003) registered Durban Water Recycling (Pty) Ltd as the project company and took a 51% stake in the project. Local partners, including Khulani Water Limited, Marubeni Europe, Umgeni Water and Zetachem took a 49% stake. The total investment in the project was estimated at R72 million (approx. US$12 million), of which the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) contributed R34 million and Rand Merchant Bank R21 million. The DBSA contribution also included a French export credit facility of approximately R15 million. Financial closure of this deal was reached in September of 1999. The plant began commercial operations in May 2001. None None