Latin America and Caribbean Week in France: SUEZ develops new activities in the region through five contracts

These contracts contribute to the development of the Group’s new activities in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region where SUEZ is celebrating its 80th anniversary. Today, 6% of the Group’s global revenue comes from this region, where it has more than 6,600 employees in nine main countries, which include Chile, Mexico and Brazil. As an expert in water management that contributes to meeting the region’s essential needs for access to water and sanitation, the Group is also expanding into new markets, such as smart cities, agriculture and industry.

• In São Paulo, a megacity with more than 20 million inhabitants, the current situation of the water distribution network leads to water leaks and services disruptions. SABESP, the public authority in charge of water management, recently awarded a €1.2 million contract to SUEZ for the reduction of leaks on water networks in the eastern part of the city. This 24-month contract covers the improvement of hydric and energy efficiency by overseeing the modernisation and extension works of the network and introducing new services, such as management by micro-sectors and the installation of 2,415 meters.

• The Group has signed a contract with the city of Queretaro in central Mexico. The €2.3 million contract covers the installation of the Aquacis system that will improve the technical and commercial management of water services. This system, developed by SUEZ Advanced Solutions, is already deployed in Spain, Algeria and Chile. 

• Santiago de Chile, the first city in the region to treat 100% of its residual water, is taking the circular economy even further. The Group is supporting this effort by modernising the infrastructures of the Mapocho-Trebal and La Farfana wastewater treatment plants. Through its stake in Aguas Andinas, the concession company managing the entire water cycle for the city’s 7 million inhabitants, SUEZ is implementing the Biofactorias programme. The initial investment of €50 million will enable these two plants to become 100% energy self-sufficient, to produce gas that can be re-injected into the urban gas network and composting products for local farmers, and to implement a social entrepreneurship programme with the nearby communities.

La Farfana wastewater treatment plant in Chile

Latin America represents 24% of worldwide arable land and accounts for 11% of global agricultural production. SUEZ has the technological solutions that enable farmers to optimise their water consumption and to supply sufficient quantities of quality water through remote metering, leak detection, adaptation of consumption to the weather conditions, reuse of domestic wastewater or desalination for agricultural irrigation. 

• The Group is present on this market in Chile, where it signed a contract in May to provide hydrology services to an agricultural enterprise specialised in the production of nuts. 

• SUEZ also supports industrial companies in managing their water resources, in particular in the Oil & Gas sector in Brazil and in mining in Peru and Chile. In April, the Group renewed a contract to operate and maintain hydric system facilities for a mining company in El Teniente for an amount of €13 million. Finally, thanks to the recent acquisition of GE Water, the Group is in a position to offer even more solutions to industrial companies (two equipment production plants and almost 770 employees) in Latin America, where industry consumes 11% of the available water resources.

In a region that accounts for one-third of the planet’s fresh water and is home to almost 635 million inhabitants, more than 34 million people do not have access to an improved drinking water source and more than 106 million have no sanitation services. More than 200 million inhabitants are faced with intermittent water services or services that are not available 24x7. In this context, SUEZ is deploying technological or contractual solutions in various forms of public-private partnerships to meet the essential needs for access to water and sanitation. With more than 550 treatment plants built and four concessions for the management of the complete water cycle, including two in Palmira and Cartagena in Colombia, the Group has long-standing references in concessions, infrastructure and water management services. These five contracts confirm the Group’s ambition to propose its full range of solutions and know-how in support of the circular economy to cities, farmers and industrial companies in Latin America.