The Indian group Va Tech Wabag has sold 58% of its shares in Ujams Wastewater Treatment Company to Veolia Water, a subsidiary of the French Veolia Group, which specialises in water and waste treatment. Veolia thus acquires a majority stake in this special purpose company created for the construction and operation of the Ujams industrial wastewater treatment plant in Namibia.
Veolia Water, a subsidiary of the French Veolia Group, becomes the majority shareholder of Ujams Wastewater Treatment Company. The French company has just acquired an additional 58% stake in this company, which was set up on an ad hoc basis for the construction and operation of the Ujams industrial wastewater treatment plant, located north of the city of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.
The shares were purchased from its consortium partner Wabag Vienna, the subsidiary of the Indian water treatment group Va Tech Wabag. Wabag Vienna held a 66.4% stake in Ujams Wastewater Treatment Company. It now holds only 8.4%. The shares sold to Veolia represent N$78.3 million (US$4.22 million). The treatment plant at the heart of the transaction treats wastewater from the Ujams industrial zone.
A plant to treat industrial wastewater
The Ujams area is made up of various plants: a brewery, a tannery, an abattoir, among others… According to Veolia, the wastewater discharged from the industrial area is filtered and disaggregated and then enters the MBR (Membrane Bioreactor) system. Before being discharged outside, the water is disinfected via an ultraviolet (UV) treatment, and the various treatment areas are connected to an odour elimination process.
The installation has a 5,000 m³ daily capacity. The wastewater treated in the plant is reused for the irrigation of the plantations. When the demand for irrigation water is low, especially during the rainy season, the wastewater treated at the Ujams treatment plant is discharged into the Klein Windhoek River, which joins the groundwater system, or into the Swakoppoort Dam as a high-quality water stream.
Inaugurated in 2014, the plant will continue to be operated by Ujams Wastewater Treatment Company for another 15 years.
Jean Marie Takouleu
