Tunisia announces its first EUR 200 mn wastewater PPP contract: The National Office of Sanitation of Tunisia (ONAS) has awarded the Tunisian water industry's first public-private partnership to a consortium led by French water utility company Suez, according to a statement. ONAS chose Suez, Segor, SCET Group, and BIAT1 to operate the public wastewater treatment service for Sfax, Gabès, Medenine, and Tataouine governorates.

What we know: The 10-year, EUR 200 mn contract will be financed by the World Bank and by the Tunisian state, the statement notes. Financing from the World Bank will be directed towards the restoration and extension of infrastructure, funds from the state will cover the operation and maintenance of this infrastructure. The contract also covers the renovation of existing wastewater treatments plans and other work that will allow for the use of wastewater for agriculture through tertiary water treatment processes such as ultraviolet light treatment and phosphorus removal.

The details: The infrastructure will have a treatment capacity of 39 mn m3/year from 14 wastewater treatment plants, 106 pumping stations, and 1.9k km of pipelines, the statement notes. It will provide wastewater services for c. 960k residents in the four governorates.