Manaus Saneamento

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In March 2000, Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux (known as SUEZ as of 2001) acquired a 90% stake in Manaus Saneamento, the company that holds a 30-year concession to expand, rehabilitate and operate the water and sewerage system of Manaus, the capital of the Amazonas State. After privatization Manaus Saneamento had its name changed to Aguas do Amazonas and became a subsidiary of Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, which paid US$ 106.1 million for the Manaus Saneamento equity stake. The remaining 10% of shares were to be offered to the company's employees. The private sponsor took over the operation of the facilities in July 2000. The company was serving a population of 1.2 million people and the number of connections was 293,238 (91% of the population) at the time. The concessionaire committed to a US$28mn investment program for the 2000-2003 period and was expected to invest a total of US$ 718 million (R$ 1,294 million, 2000 value) over the concession period. In January 2003, BNDES, the Brazilian Development Bank, approved a US$ 19 million (R$ 65.7 million) financing to Aguas do Amazonas. In July 2002, Aguas do Amazonas started operations of a US$7mn floating water treatment plant. The plant was to help treat water from the Negro river by using chemical products to bring together pollutant particulates that are injected with oxygen and then rise to the surface where they are skimmed off. In 2006, Suez sold its shares in Aguas do Amazonas to the Brazilian group Solvi. In May 2012, half of Aguas do Amazonas' shares were acquired by Grupo Aguas do Brasil - Saneamento Ambiental Aguas do Brasil (SAAB) – a partnership of the Brazilian companies Developer S.A. (Grupo Carioca Engenharia), Queiroz Galvao, Trana Construcoes Ltda and Construtora Cowan. A new operator was created to take over the project called Manaus Ambiental. The sponsors signed a new 30 year concession contract, and agreed to invest US$ 1.4 billion (BRL 3.4 billion) over the 30-year period to achieve a 100% coverage rate for Manaus. http://www.aguasdoamazonas.com.br/ Contract was renegotiated on Jan. 15th 2007 and will need updating, see filing database. The new contract included the development of eleven new water reservoirs under a 30-year DBFO concession in Manaus city, Brazil. Construction began in Jan 2007 and is slated for completion in Jan 2009. Financing for the US $78 million expansion was arranged in late 2008/early 2009. The annual investments undertaken by Aguas do Amazonas, year by year were: 2000 – US$ 6 million (R$ 11.8 million) 2001 – US$ 18.4 million (R$ 41 million) 2002 – US$ 9.8 million (R$ 28.8 million)