French utilities developer Veolia is looking to mobilise around $200m worth of investments in power and water projects in the Mena region in 2018with an acquisition in Turkey and partnerships in the multi-billion dollar Saudi utilities market on its agenda for the coming year.
The Middle East currently accounts for two per cent of Veolia's annual revenue, according to Xavier Joseph, chief executive Middle East for Veolia. The company hopes to grow this figure significantly via participation in desalination and water projects in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.
"We invest through PPPs [pubic private partnerships] and with the help of debt, $200m is the global amount of money we can mobilise through project financing," Mr Joseph told The National in an interview in Abu Dhabi.
“We have entered Egypt already and we’re submitting an offer for acquisition in Turkey.
The Turkish acquisition, related to waste-to-energy, will "dramatically change" Veolia's footprint in the country, said Mr Joseph, giving no further details.
Veolia's current Turkish operations, which include a waste water treatment plant at Alanya on Turkey's central Mediterranean coast, generates €8-9 million (Dh36-40 million) in annual revenue.
In Egypt, the company provides facilities management to Majid Al Futtaim's Mall of Egypt and Mall of Alexandria via Enova, a Veolia-MAF joint venture.
Veolia plans to bid for the world's largest desalination facility in Abu Dhabi, a 200 million Imperial gallon a day project announced earlier this month by the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea). The Dh2 billion Taweela project will be developed as two desalination plants of 100 million gallons each and will be constructed at the namesake power station, which is located north of the city of Abu Dhabi.
Mr Joseph said Veolia plans to submit an expression of interest on the project by the end of January, and hoped to pre-qualify for the scheme in February.
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Read more:
Abu Dhabi unveils a Dh1.6bn underground reserve for desalinated water
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Firms may be called to submit their bids by October, with hopes for an award by the end of the year, added Mr Joseph, observing that the firm is likely to go alone for the scheme.
"The public client Adwea keeps 60 per cent of the project so the private industries are interested only in the 40 per cent of the project company, so either we will go alone or we will go with one other partner because there is not enough equity to share somehow," he said.
Veolia is also targeting participation in $2.5bn worth of desalination projects in Saudi Arabia, across the industrial cities of Shuqaiq, Yanbu as well as Jubail, with further opportunites coming via the privatisation of the kingdom's water sector and participation the country's water distribution business.
The privatisation of Saudi Arabia's water distribution sector could generate $4-5 billion worth of annual operating revenues for private sector participants, said Mr Joseph.
"We have partnerships with Saudi entities and we are looking forward to seeing the distribution privatisation which is supposed to be the next step after the waste water treatment plant," he added.
Veolia, along with Acwa Power and Oman’s Dhofar International Development, won a contract in December to develop a 25-million-gallon desalination project in Oman, using reverse osmosis technology.
The Dhofar project, which is being built on an independent water producer (IWP) basis, will reach financial close early in the second quarter of this year, said Mr Joseph.
The full list of 2020 Brit Award nominees (winners in bold):
British group
Coldplay
Foals
Bring me the Horizon
D-Block Europe
Bastille
British Female
Mabel
Freya Ridings
FKA Twigs
Charli xcx
Mahalia
British male
Harry Styles
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Michael Kiwanuka
Stormzy
Best new artist
Aitch
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Mabel
Sam Fender
Best song
Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber - I Don’t Care
Mabel - Don’t Call Me Up
Calvin Harrison and Rag’n’Bone Man - Giant
Dave - Location
Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart
AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove
Lewis Capaldi - Someone you Loved
Tom Walker - Just You and I
Sam Smith and Normani - Dancing with a Stranger
Stormzy - Vossi Bop
International female
Ariana Grande
Billie Eilish
Camila Cabello
Lana Del Rey
Lizzo
International male
Bruce Springsteen
Burna Boy
Tyler, The Creator
Dermot Kennedy
Post Malone
Best album
Stormzy - Heavy is the Head
Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka
Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
Dave - Psychodrama
Harry Styles - Fine Line
Rising star
Celeste
Joy Crookes
beabadoobee
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Rawat Al Reef, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Noof KB, Richard Mullen, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Jabalini, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: UAE Arabian Derby – Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Dergham Athbah, Richard Mullen, Mohamed Daggash
7.30pm: Emirates Championship – Group 1 (PA) Dh1,000,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
8pm: Abu Dhabi Championship – Group 3 (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Irish Freedom, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar
Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up
Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm
On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm
The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm
Romang, June 28 at 6pm
Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm
Underdog, June 29 at 2pm
Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm
A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Abu Dhabi GP weekend schedule
Friday
First practice, 1pm
Second practice, 5pm
Saturday
Final practice, 2pm
Qualifying, 5pm
Sunday
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps), 5.10pm