The 30-year contract, which was awarded following an international competitive bidding process, is set to generate revenues totalling over 1.6 billion euros over the period.

For this contract, Veolia Water has teamed up with a Hong Kong partner to acquire a 49% interest in Kunming Water Supply, the local water services operator, with the municipal authorities retaining the remaining 51% of the capital.

Veolia Water will manage the company, which has 1,145 employees with responsibility for water production and distribution (nine plants with capacity of1,615,000m³ per day, and a 1,500km-long network), as well as customer services.

Under this contract, Veolia Water will notably provide its expertise in the management of the distribution network, which lies on very hilly terrain, and will endeavor to optimize its efficiency and increase its coverage.

Kunming, which is known as "Spring City", is a popular tourist destination and lies at a high altitude (1,800m) on the shores of the mountain lakes. This contract meets the municipal authorities' goal of securing the expertise of the world leader in water services to raise the standard of its water services to international levels.

"This 17th contract awarded to the group in China is also the third-largest after Pudong Shanghai and Shenzhen. It demonstrates the performance and quality of Veolia Water's services. This latest addition will strengthen Veolia Water's leadership in this market, the revenue growth of which is in line with Veolia Environnement's ambitious expansion targets in Asia", stated Antoine Frérot, Veolia Water's Chief Executive Officer, during the signing ceremony.