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• The plant will provide 40 million litres a day of fresh and clean water, thereby 40% of the Kigali city’s potable water requirements.
• A milestone in Rwanda’s progressive vision to build an economic, prosperous and first class developed country.
• Secured and sustainable water supply will have a huge impact on the socio-economy of the country.

November 2017: the Government of Rwanda and Metito have today announced the Financial Close of the first competitively tendered Build Operate Transfer (BOT) Water Concession in Sub-Saharan Africa (outside of South Africa). The finalisation of this Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement spells the start of execution of the highly-anticipated Kigali Bulk Water Supply Project with construction forecasted to last 30 months from the commencement date.

The Kigali Bulk Water Supply Project will be located in Kanzenze, in the South Eastern part of Kigali. The Project will provide 40 million litres per day of fresh, clean and safe water to the residents of Rwanda’s Capital city to serve domestic, commercial and industrial end users. The treated water will be extracted from the south bank of the Nyabarongo River and will supplement existing water supplies in a strategic move to meet Kigali’s growing water demands – a city with a population of over one million residents.

This iconic project is being developed by Kigali Water Limited (KWL), a fully owned subsidiary of Metito, a global provider for intelligent water management solutions with 60 years of experience developing and managing water facilities across the world covering four continents. KWL will design, build, maintain and operate the treatment plant and will then sell potable water to the Water & Sanitation Corporation of Rwanda (WASAC) under a 27- year PPP Agreement.

The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a member of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), is the mandated Lead Arranger of the financing of this project which is worth US$60.8 million. EAIF and The African Development Bank (AFDB) are covering US$40.6 million of the capital cost of the project; US$38 million of Senior Debt and US$2.6 million of Junior Debt with all loans on 18-year terms. The balance will be provided by Metito as equity finance. The Kigali Bulk Surface Water Supply PPP project also benefits from a US$6.25 million grant from PIDG’s Technical Assistance Facility (TAF).

The Kigali Bulk Water Supply Project was awarded to Metito through an international and competitive tender process, and the completion of its financing marks a historic moment and a milestone in Rwanda’s progressive vision to build an economic, prosperous and first class developed country. The successful Financial Close of a project of this size also highlights the effective partnership between the public and private sectors and is a landmark project that will pave the way to other similar capital intensive projects in Africa and a catalyst that can enhance the international investor community’s appetite to invest in Rwanda.

David White, Chairman of the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund says, “The conclusion of the financing is tremendous news for Rwanda. Fresh, clean water has a fundamental role to play in economic development and water-dependent businesses like hotels, food processing and leisure, will have greater confidence in investing in Kigali. The financing exercise has been a model of cooperation between EAIF, the AFDB, the Government of Rwanda, and Metito.”

Mutaz Ghandour, Metito Chairman and CEO, said, “The Kigali Bulk Surface Water Supply PPP project puts Rwanda on the map for the international investor community and marks a historic moment for Rwanda. Together, today, we are setting a precedent not only for Rwanda, but for the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa, and surely for Metito. Once complete, this will become an exemplar project for PPPs in the region – there is no doubt – so today, we must all celebrate alongside the People of Rwanda.

He added, “Africa has huge potential and we expect this to continue as critical infrastructure develops around the provision of key utilities. To undertake such capital intensive infrastructure projects, the PPP scheme remains to be the best, and sometimes unavoidable, formula, and Metito acknowledges this. Our global growth strategy aims at expanding our presence in Africa, and augmenting Metito’s well established and tested operations in North, West and now East Africa, and this remarkable project here in Kigali is in line with this strategy. The diligence and effort put into the structuring of the project and towards reaching Financial Close is outstanding, and we look forward to working with our partners on this project and other similar opportunities in Rwanda and the region. We are honored to be part of this.”

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For further information, please contact:
Metito
Reem Saleh +971506280031
reem.saleh@metito.com

About Metito
Metito is the leader and provider of choice for total intelligent water management solutions in the emerging markets with operations covering three business areas: design and build, specialty chemicals, and utilities. With 60 years of experience, the group provides customized, comprehensive and advanced solutions across the full spectrum of its industry; from clean to dirty water; desalination and re-use; industrial solutions (up to hyper pure water); investing into water and wastewater assets; and structuring both Greenfield and Brownfield schemes under project finance structures. With a mission to sustain the world’s water resources, Metito provides effective water management and treatment systems that can reconcile the ever growing water demand and the dwindling natural resources. Committed to a cleaner environment, Metito endeavours to utilise its world-class global knowhow to provide millions of people across the globe access to clean and safe water. Metito is at the forefront of the water and wastewater industry with an impressive project portfolio that includes more than 3000 projects in in more than 45 countries worldwide through its strategically located operational offices and over 2500 experienced and talented employees.

metito.com

Mutaz Ghandour, Metito Chairman and CEO, named the longest-serving Chief Executive in the Water Business as reported by Global Water Intelligence (GWI) .

Running long-term businesses need long-term leaders, and Mutaz Ghandour has been leading Metito Group successfully for more than 51 years demonstrating that there is no limits to success when there is a deep rooted vision and a committed leader who is able to inspire his people every day, everywhere.

· Mutaz Ghandour, Chairman and CEO of Metito Holdings accepts his appointment as IIMSAM Goodwill Ambassador

Dubai, 03 July 2017: The Intergovernmental Institution for the use of micro-algae spirulina against malnutrition (IIMSAM), the Intergovernmental Observer to the United Nations Economic and Social Council has appointed Mr Mutaz Ghandour, Chairman and CEO of Metito Holdings as a Goodwill Ambassador.

Commenting on this appointment, H.E. Mutaz Ghandour said: “The objective of this institution is to eradicate malnutrition in Africa by 2030 in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Human access to basic nutrients, be it food or water, is a basic right yet 1 out of 6 people lack access to safe drinking water, and 1 in 3 people suffer from malnutrition. With 60 years of experience in the water industry, we understand the importance of creating awareness about these issues and to advocate those rights. I am confident that there is much to be done to eradicate malnutrition and aiding the development of Micro Algae Spirulina in Africa is one step forward’’.

H.E Mutaz Ghandour continued: “The benefits of spirulina for nutritional purposes are well documented, edible algae is a cost-effective, healthy, protein rich, food supplement. In addition Spirulina has the potential to improve food security while also benefitting the environment by requiring less land to produce the same amount of protein and energy than livestock and other crops. The development of Micro-Algae Spirulina needs a reliable source of water so in that respect we are ideally placed to provide guidance in this area as well. As well as raising the profile of micro-algae spirulina as a tool in the fight against malnutrition, H.E. Mutaz Ghandour has pledged to support the development of Spirulina Feeding Centre in Kisumo, West of Kenya’’.

H.E. Mutaz Ghandour added: “This project is in-line with our values as a company. There is a clear need to seek out new solutions, fresh ideas and approaches to deal with the challenges of malnutrition, just as much as we need to address lack of access to clean and safe drinking water. This is exactly what Metito endeavors to do by investing in R&D and looking for new next generation technology that can help communities efficiently and sustainably.”

The Secretary General of IIMSAM H.E. Remigio Maradona said: “We are extremely fortunate to have an ambassador of H.E. Mutaz Ghandour’s calibre and stature supporting our cause. His immense industry knowledge and huge experience in the water industry will be an enormous asset in creating awareness of and supporting the fight against malnutrition. Spirulina is an ecologically sound way of producing high protein food that can benefit the millions of people around the world who most need it. I look forward to working closely with H.E. Mutaz Ghandour to achieving some real progress in turning the potential of Spirulina into reality”.

• EventLab, a patented cutting edge technology based on refractive index measurements, provides real-time water quality monitoring for the full spectrum of chemical contaminants with a single sensor, designed for both standalone and networked infrastructure  

Dubai, UAE, 24 November 2016 – Metito and Optiqua Technologies today announced their collaboration to bring Optiqua’s intelligent water quality monitoring  solutions, Eventlab and Minilab, to the GCC and other key markets in Asia and Africa. Both products provide unique benefits over traditional sensor technologies and are  based on Optiq ua’s patented and awarded optical sensor platform.

EventLab is a real time continuous monitoring solution that strongly outperforms any traditional sensor technology for the purpose of overall water quality monitoring and contamination detection. It has a wide range of applications including the monitoring of water quality at treatment plants, monitoring of water quality in distribution networks and monitoring the water quality at intake points/ surface water monitoring. EventLab is currently being used by reputable utilities all over the world, and with Metito this solution will not be available and implemented in a variety of applications in the GCC and other key markets.

Metito and Optiqua’s collaboration will also introduce and deploy MiniLab, a compact sensing platform that provides user- friendly and cost-effective analysis of contaminants in various matrices for both lab and field applications. The MiniLab system addresses the increasing demand for sensitive and fast analysis of samples and the need to identify and quantify target analyses within a fast turnaround time, in this case approximately 15 minutes. The system has a range of applications such as; environmental/ pollution monitoring for industrial waste, monitoring of algae toxins or as a rapid screening tool for water security  incidents.

Metito, a leading global provider of intelligent water management solutions, has been actively scouting for and investing in new technologies and startup companies to continue providing Emerging Markets across the globe, top of the line sustainable solutions and systems. Having real-time monitoring at the precision of EventLab is crucial to any utilities’ provider because it will simply enable prompt and efficient on-site identification and prompt responses to unexpected – sometimes unknown pollutants- and to perform qualitative and quantitative laboratory analysis of the pollutants with speed. The safety, security and financial returns from such an innovative and cost efficient solution are monumental.

Melchior van Wijlen, Managing Director Optiqua said, ‘We are very excited to have the opportunity to work together with such a  reputable company as Metito, and be part of the state of the art solutions that Metito offers to its global clients. This collaboration is a strong international recognition of our technology and monitoring solutions and Metito’s leading market position and expertise will introduce Optiqua to a large community of new clients in new markets and help implement the solutions in a variety of applications and projects’.

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About Metito

Metito is the leader and provider of choice for total intelligent water management solutions in the emerging markets with operations covering three business areas: design and build, specialty chemicals, and utilities. With over 58 years of experience, the group provides customized, comprehensive and advanced solutions across the full spectrum of its industry; from clean to dirty water; desalination and re-use; industrial solutions (up to hyper pure water); investing into water and wastewater assets; and structuring both Greenfield and Brownfield schemes under project finance structures.

With a mission to sustain the world’s water resources, Metito provides effective water management and treatment systems that can reconcile the ever growing water demand and the dwindling natural resources. Committed to a cleaner environment, Metito endeavours to utilise its world-class global knowhow to provide millions of people across the globe access to clean and safe water.

Metito is at the forefront of the water and wastewater industry with an impressive project portfolio that includes more than 3000 projects in in more than 45 countries worldwide through its strategically located operational offices and over 2500 experienced and talented employees.

For more information please visit metito.com

 About Optiqua 

Optiqua Technologies develops innovative water quality monitoring solutions. All Optiqua products leverage patented and awarded lab- on-chip sensor technology. Applications of Optiqua’s products include real-time online monitoring of drinking water supply and distribution, protection of critical infrastructures and the rapid detection of specific substances in water samples. Based in the Netherlands and Singapore, Optiqua helps water companies around the world safeguard the quality of their drinking water supply.

GWI lists the largest portfolio of privately financed water/wastewater treatment plants around the world

GWI publishes the list of companies having the biggest interests in municipal build-operate-transfer and build-own-operate water and wastewater treatment plants in its latest edition, October 2016.

The list is based on equity ownership of total capacity (i.e. the total of capacity of projects in which a company has an equity interest, multiplied by the percentage share of the project company that they own in each case). It is a pretty rough measure, and in Metito’s case conservative, but GWI clearly states that it is the best estimation based on the data available. Looking at active non- Chinese developers only, the leaderboard* was published to be: 1) Suez; 2) Veolia; 3) Tedagua; 4) Engie; 5) Acciona; 6) Biwater; 7) Hyflux; 8) Metito; 9) Mitsui; 10) Sembcorp.

*For the complete list please check the latest issue of GWI newsletter– October 2016 edition.