There couldn't be any better news for Veolia Environment than
the 17th Party Congress setting conservation and
environmental protection as one of the key issues for the country's
development.
Against the backdrop of such a positive government policy, the
world's leading environmental service provider aims to grow its
China business by an average 30 percent annually, said Henri
Proglio, chairman of the board of directors and CEO of the company,
during his recent trip to Beijing.
"It means more opportunities for all four divisions of Veolia -
water, waste, energy and transportation," said the CEO of the
France-headquartered firm.
He said Veolia will continue to invest heavily in China. By
2013, its total investment in the country is expected to amount to
$2.5 billion, compared with the current $1.5 billion.
Since entering China a decade ago, Veolia, which ranks 128th
among the top 500 global companies, has emerged as one of the
largest investors and operators in water and waste business in
China, with more than 60 projects across the country.
Its China business reached $1 billion last year, with a local
staff strength of 15,000.
Proglio, who comes to China a couple of times a year to meet
representatives of the local government, partners and staff
members, said one of the challenges for establishing a conservation
culture in China is the urban heating system. Many cities still use
decades-old equipment and pipes, which need to increase energy
efficiency and reduce emissions.
"Our energy division, which has the leading technology and
equipment in this area, has huge potential here," Proglio said.
In June, the energy division won its first urban heating
contract in the country, which is the flagship project in one of
the coldest cities of China - Jiamusi, in Heilongjiang
Province.
The system serves 250,000 residents as well as businesses and
municipal buildings, covering 5.5 million square meters
Veolia plans to increase it to nearly 15 million sq m of
building space by 2020. As part of the contract, more than 600
employees will join Veolia's teams.
After meeting officials from the Jiamusi municipal government,
Proglio was amazed by their determination to modernize the city
from the old industrial base. "Jiamusi's case is exactly like
northeastern France that underwent renovation several years ago. We
have gained lots of experience in France, which can be applied in
many cities here," he said.
Veolia recently won an urban heating contract in Harbin, capital
of Heilongjiang Province, to build and operate more than 17 million
sq m of building space in the southwestern part of the city.
In Chongqing, the company is in talks with the public
transportation department on managing 1,000 buses and 3,500 public
transportation staff, Proglio said, but declined to reveal when the
deal is expected to be sealed.
"With our first transportation project in China, the
transportation division, which is the leader in Europe, will
quickly expand to other cities."
A few weeks ago, Veolia signed a 30-year contract with Tianjin
Municipality to supply 3 million people with drinking water.
The contract will cover the northern part of Tianjin, and the
Binhai New Area on the eastern coast, including managing the
Xinkaihe water production plant, which processes 1 million cu m a
day and 1,988 km of linear network, as well as acquiring Jinbin
water production plant, which will provide 500,000 cu m of water a
day in the first phase.
"It's a joint venture project with Tianjin Municipality. We have
invested equipment and technology worth $200 million in it,"
Proglio said.
As for the waste division, it has signed a 30-year waste
disposal contract with Jiujiang, in Jiangxi Province, to design,
build and operate sanitary waste landfill sites with a total
capacity of 16 million tons.
Veolia Environment Group, established in 1853, is a leading
global environmental service and solution provider in water
resources, waste, public transport and energy. It has 300,000
employees in more than 80 countries, and its revenue hit $45
billion last year.
The firm aims to keep the annual growth rate at 10 percent
worldwide, and double the revenue in seven to eight years.
(China Daily November 15, 2007)
