France: Veolia & Suez form battalions for a new Marseillaise

The deadline has passed for private operators to submit proposals for water and sewerage service contracts in 18 districts of Marseille – worth an estimated €3 billion over a period of 15 years.

Four contracts are up for grabs – one for water and three for sewerage services – compared to 20-30 contracts under the existing public service delegation regime.

A spokesman for the Société des Eaux de Marseille (SEM), a subsidiary of Veolia, confirmed to GWI that his company had submitted bids for the new contracts. SEM is the incumbent operator of many of the current contracts, which are due to expire at the end of 2013.

Lyonnaise des Eaux subsidiary SERAM, meanwhile, is one of the main operators of the sewerage contracts.

A spokesperson for the Marseille Provence Metropolitan Council (MPM) said the body could not disclose any information about the candidates, as the bids are currently under review.