SUEZ strengthens presence in Algeria with major water contract extension

SUEZ has signed an extension of the support contract for the modernisation of water and sanitation services in the Greater Algiers area for a period of 3 years.

The global water and waste group signed the contract with the Algerian national water company Algérienne Des Eaux (ADE) and the Algerian national sanitation authority Office National de l’Assainissement  (ONA.

The contract covers:

• The performance of water and sanitation services in the Greater Algiers area;
• Support for national operators in terms of technical expertise and the establishment of a National School of Water and Sanitation Management.

The Algerian authorities have reaffirmed their confidence in SUEZ for the management of the Société des Eaux et d’Assainissement d’Alger (SEAAL), a company established under Algerian law by a joint public-private partnership involving ADE, ONA and SUEZ. SUEZ has been supporting SEAAL efforts to modernise water and sanitation services in the Greater Algiers area since 2006.

The initial objective was to provide the 3 million inhabitants of Algiers with access to drinking water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and to significantly improve the city’s sanitation service. The partnership was also based on a sharing of expertise between SUEZ and SEAAL teams. The contract, renewed for 5 years in 2011 and for 2 years in 2016, has been extended to the Tipasa Wilaya,1 located west of Algiers, and to the Taksebt drinking water production plant, located east of Algiers, which provides a population of 5 million inhabitants with drinking water.

Contract will maintain transfer of technical and managerial expertise

The new agreement, which came into effect on 1 September 2018, aims to continue the progress made over the past 12 years in Algiers and to maintain the transfer of technical and managerial expertise to SEAAL.

In 2006, SUEZ deployed its WIKTI2 methodology for transferring know-how to the water sector in Algiers and, in 2011, its OPT (Optimizing Personal Talents) solution to provide local managers with the managerial expertise required to manage a public water and sanitation service effectively and sustainably.

Since then, SUEZ experts have supported SEAAL staff in the field on a daily basis to enhance their operational practices (leak repair, etc.), improve their managerial practices and learn modern management tools (remote control centre, groundwater and network modelling, etc.).  More than 170,000 days of training have been provided during the last 12 years.

SUEZ will support national drinking water (ADE) and sanitation (ONA) operators in:

• Improving their technical performance by carrying out a diagnosis of the maturity of the professions, drawing up strategic action plans and setting up specific technical support;
• The establishment of the National School of Water and Sanitation Management and the development of training plans leading to qualifications.

The new contract also sets new objectives for improving network efficiency, plants performance and customer satisfaction, both in Algiers and Tipasa

In order to achieve the new objectives, SUEZ will deploy its AquadvancedTM solutions on drinking water networks, sanitation networks and borehole fields. The solutions will ensure dynamic management and real-time prioritisation of operations via the installation of sensors (flow, pressure, etc.) placed on networks and boreholes to provide modern decision support tools.