Chennai: SUEZ has secured a 25-year concession contract to deliver water services to more than one million residents in Salem, Tamil Nadu.
The contract, valued at EUR 456 million, has been awarded by the Salem City Municipal Corporation, marking SUEZ’s largest water supply project in India to date. Both parties have a 45-day period to finalize the concession agreement.
The project will cover a 91-square-kilometre area and focus on upgrading Salem’s existing water supply system. Plans include rehabilitation of intake structures, water treatment plants, and pumping stations. SUEZ will also replace and strengthen 1,800 kilometres of aging pipelines, build 26 new service reservoirs, and upgrade 39 existing reservoirs.
By the end of the contract period, 234,634 households are expected to be connected to the city’s water distribution network. The project will also introduce advanced digital systems to improve customer service, meter reading, and billing operations.
Under the performance-based contract, SUEZ has committed to reducing non-revenue water by 20 percent within five years. The company will also work to improve the resolution of customer complaints. After an initial five-year construction and rehabilitation phase, SUEZ will operate and maintain the system for 20 years. Ownership of all assets will remain with the municipal corporation.
SUEZ already has a strong presence in India, including a water distribution concession in Coimbatore, and currently provides water and wastewater services to 65 million people across the country.
