BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 29
Trend:
The French company Veolia has entered into a 30-year concession contract for the operation, maintenance and management of the district heating system in capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Trend reports citing Uzbek media.
This is the first contract signed with the Group in the country. Veolia intends to offer local communities its vast experience and solutions to support their sustainable development and environmental transformation.
Tashkent owns the largest heating network in the country, which provides heat and hot water to about 1.2 million inhabitants, that is, almost half of the city's population. The system includes three large gas heating plants, more than 200 local boiler houses and 1,926 km of pipes, of which 73 percent are underground. Veolia will be responsible for its activities with revenue of 13.4 billion euros over a 30-year contract.
This contract is the first of its kind in the country and is based on a public-private partnership.
For 30 years, Veolia will provide:
- operation and maintenance of district heating and hot water systems
- an assessment of the district heating system and hot water facilities to determine what investments are required
- financing of the operating assets program
- project management
Moreover, within two years, a pilot project to modernize the heating system in two districts of the capital will be implemented. Completion of the pilot project will launch an ambitious city-wide modernization program.
The goal of the Veolia group of companies is to become a benchmark company for the green transition. With nearly 179,000 employees on every continent, the Group develops and distributes actionable, concrete water, waste and energy management solutions that help bring about radical change. Through three complementary activities, Veolia expands access to resources, preserves existing resources and renews them. In 2020, the Veolia Group of Companies provided 95 million people with drinking water and 62 million with sanitation services; it generated nearly 43 million megawatt hours and processed 47 million tons of waste. Veolia Environnement posted consolidated sales of 26.010 billion euros in 2020.