Government to hold Bidding Conference for Public/private sector water services partnership
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Contact: Ministry of Public Utilities
Monday, 26 May 2008 – The Government of Saint Lucia will be hosting a high level Bidders conference in the water sector for Investors at the Rex St. Lucian Hotel on Wednesday 28th May 2008.
The specific objectives of the conference are to clarify the legal and technical aspects of the bidding documents, allow bidders the opportunity to visit the water facilities in Saint Lucia and define the scope of the investment opportunity prior to the submission of bids.
Apart from meeting the operational experience criteria and financial solidity requirements, the selected investor will be the one that provides the highest cash contribution to capitalize 40 percent of the new water Company.
The long term investment requirements to provide an adequate and reliable water and sewerage service to the people of Saint Lucia and visitors alike are substantial and are in the order of EC$350 million. The public budget could not support such an investment programme by Government going alone, since it is not the intention of Government to expose the tax payers of the country to this level of debt.
As a consequence, the Government of Saint Lucia is inviting the private sector to participate in the provision of water services currently operated by the water and Sewage Company Ltd (WASCO). Nine representatives of international companies are expected to attend the Bidders conference.
They are: Veolia (France), Suez (France), Cascal/Biwater (UK), Severn Trent Water International (UK), Castalia (France), SAUR (France), ASHTROM (St. Lucia) Ltd. (St. Lucia/Israel), Aquas de Barcelona (Spain) and Proactiva Medio Ambiente (Spain). The participation of the private sector will be structured as a public-private partnership company.
The conference is being facilitated by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. The role of IFC is to provide transaction advisory services to Government and to ensure that the partnership arrangement meets the objectives of Government and the people of Saint Lucia. The World Bank has been providing resources for reforming the water sector.
The new public-private partnership company will be the dominant service provider of water and sewerage services. Currently, WASCO is unable to meet the total demand for water, which is expected to increase significantly due to population increase and expected growth in the economic sectors of Saint Lucia.
Revenue from the new Company will be derived from the water and sewerage services in accordance with the new Water Act which came into force on 15th May 2006. Tariff and service quality will be regulated by the National Water & Sewerage Commission.
The Public-Private Partnership framework developed by Government seeks to address the low levels of public and private investment in the water infrastructure in Saint Lucia. The provision of a reliable water supply is likely to stimulate investment, economic growth and employment.
The proposed company will be capitalized by various shareholders. The Prime Minister, in his budget address to the nation, stated that the participation of the private sector in WASCO will proceed on the basis of a formula that will allocate forty percent (40%) of the shares of the new entity to an international private sector investor that will also exercise management control, and twenty percent (20%) of the shares each to Government, the National Insurance Corporation and the public and local private sector. Government has taken the decision that only ordinary shares will be made available to all prospective shareholders. |
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