REMONDIS enters the Russian water market.

Lünen, Nishnij Novogorod. On 09 December 2009, the cooperation agreements between REMONDIS and the City of Arzamas were signed in the government building in the presence of the Governor, Valerij Shanzev, and the Mayor of the City of Arzamas, Anatolij Migunow, as well as REMONDIS board member, Egbert Tölle, and the managing director of REMONDIS Aqua GmbH & Co. KG, Andreas Bankamp. Under the terms of the agreement, a joint public private partnership is to be set up which will involve investments to modernize the city's water management facilities as well as to operate them more efficiently. The operative management of the facilities will begin on 01.04.2010 after which REMONDIS Aqua GmbH & Co. KG will be responsible for the supply of water as well as the disposal and treatment of wastewater in Arzamas.

Founded in 1578, the City of Arzamas lies around 400km east of Moscow in the administrative district (oblast) of Nishnij Novogorod and has approx. 120,000 in-habitants. The city is home to several large companies including Kommash, a manufacturer of municipal vehicles, and electronics businesses as well as the regional food industry.

As a result of the tender process, REMONDIS is to found a joint PPP company, REMONDIS Arzamas Service, with the City of Arzamas, in which the city will own a 25% share and REMONDIS Aqua a 75% share. The new company will take over all movable assets of the municipal company, GorVodokanal (GVK). At the same time, the new PPP business will invest approx. €21m over the next few years to improve the infrastructure. Each year, the waterworks produces and treats approx. 13.5m cubic metres of water and supplies water to and disposes of wastewater from over 16,500 households. Under the aegis of REMONDIS Aqua, the company will be responsible for all business and technical operations as well as for all investments. Water supply and wastewater treatment is currently being carried out by the GVK which employs around 480 people. The majority of the workforce will be taken over by the PPP company, REMONDIS Arzamas Service.

Future activities will focus on modernizing the different plant components. The company's goal is to prevent damage and water loss as well as to increase secu-rity of supply combined with an improvement in the quality of the drinking water. Furthermore, the pollution levels of the waters in and around the city are also to be greatly reduced by optimizing the wastewater treatment process.

REMONDIS Aqua will be bringing its complete know-how in the area of operating water technology facilities to the new company. This includes modern work or-ganization methods based on GIS technology, the use of modern laboratory and analysis technology as well as operating plants so that they are run in an energy-efficient and resource-friendly manner. Moreover, the company is intending to place great importance on promoting environmental awareness in and around the region. To achieve this, it is planning to found a water technology centre as well as to carry out accompanying measures at schools and other public institutions to teach about the efficient use of drinking water.

On signing the agreement, REMONDIS board member, Egbert Tölle, underlined the importance of the newly founded public private partnership: "It is REMONDIS' goal to develop the company, REMONDIS Arzamas Service, - together with the City of Arzamas under the aegis of your esteemed mayor, Anatolij Migunow, - into a centre of excellence within the water and environmental service branch so that is can act as a role model beyond the city and throughout the whole of the oblast."

Background:
REMONDIS is one of the world's largest privately run water and environmental service companies and provides services for more than 20 million people. Via its branches and associated companies, REMONDIS is active in 21 European coun-tries as well as in China, India, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.

REMONDIS Aqua GmbH & Co. KG is a fully owned subsidiary of REMONDIS and is one of the leading German providers of contracting solutions within indus-trial water management. The company has already implemented numerous in-dustrial projects with partners such as MAN, Akzo Nobel, BASF, Henkel, Saxonia and Deutsche Nickel. Just recently, REMONDIS Aqua has enjoyed increased international expansion with wastewater projects in Spain, Poland and Turkey.

Further informationen:

REMONDIS SE & Co. KG
Michael Schneider
Marketing &amp, Corporate Communication
Brunnenstraße 138
44536 Lünen
T +49 2306 106-515
E-Mail