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June, 9th, 2015 – As part of its ongoing commitment to Egypt, Metito, the leader and provider of choice for total intelligent water management solutions in emerging markets, has announced its participation in four key projects that will support the revival of Egypt’s local tourism economy.

The four projects, worth more than EGP 65M, are located in major luxury resorts that serve Egyptians holidaying in their own country, namely; ‘City Stars’ by Golden Coast, ‘Hacienda Bay’ by Palm Hills, ‘Porto Sharm’ by Amer Group and ‘Marassi’ by Emaar Egypt. The projects that include sea water desalination installations and sewage treatment plants will be concluded over the course of this year and are aimed to bolster the critical infrastructure at these resorts through ensuring the sustainable supply of clean and safe water and clean treated effluent for irrigation usage, features that are much expected form such luxury holiday resorts.

Commenting on the new signings, Karim Madwar, Metito Africa Managing Director, said: “Egypt is a well known holiday destination, but there are many resorts that cater not only to foreign tourists but also to Egyptians on vacation. These resorts require investment, particularly in their infrastructure, to make them attractive to the Egyptian tourists and to those who wish to invest in real estate through owning vacation houses/villas. The new projects we are working on will play a key role in strengthening the appeal and value proposition of these resorts as we make safe, sustainable and clean water supply available from the outset.”

He added: “Metito has been present and very active in Egypt and our commitment to the country and its people was never compromised, even in challenging economic times. Our portfolio of projects is diverse, working extensively with the industrial, municipal and residential sectors. We believe that Tourism is yet another core sector to Egypt’s economic development and through our tried and tested world-class water management solutions we are proud to be supporting its evolution..”

The plans are in line with recent steps taken by both the Egyptian private and public sectors towards economic recovery in recent months. This ongoing movement has led to an increase in investment across many sectors, bringing back to life several infrastructure projects previously put on hold as well as facilitating new ones.

The projects at Hacienda Bay and Porto Sharm include comprehensive/360 sewage treatment plants with a capacity of 1500m3/day each in addition to providing training for site personnel. The sea water desalination installation at Marassi will use Reverse Osmosis to produce 7,500 m³/day of potable water as well as operation and maintenance of the plant for one year. Previously, Metito installed a 5000 m3/d Reverse Osmosis plant and a 3000 m3/d Sewage treatment plant at the same resort. City Stars project on the other hand involves a BOT scheme for a 4500 m3/d Desalination plant and a 3000 m3/d Sewage treatment plant. Metito’s services, in all sites, follow the stated environmental regulations and aim at lowering energy consumption per cubic meter of produced water.

To cater for the high water demands expected this summer at various areas around Egypt, Metito will also be accommodating immediate delivery of temporary desalination plants.

It is estimated that sub-Saharan Africa’s infrastructure needs exceed US$93bn annually for the next few years, according to the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic. From transport to power to ICT, the continent’s massive infrastructure deficit is limiting its growth potential, with governments alone unable to fund these projects. However, one way of financing them is through public-private partnerships (PPPs).

In March, UAE-based water solutions company Metito signed a PPP agreement for a $75m water project with the Rwandan government. The project will develop a new water supply plant to serve 40% of Kigali’s potable water

How we made it in Africa speaks to Metito’s managing director, Rami Ghandour, about how PPP projects such as these generate returns for private companies and why success in Africa requires an in-depth understanding of the market.

How exactly are returns generated on a PPP project like this?

For a project of this nature, revenues to the developer [in this case Metito] are generated over the life of the project (contract period), which could be up to 30 years. The developer submits an invoice to the client [in this case the Rwandan government] for services rendered, which is the agreed tariff multiplied by the total volume of water consumed by the client. The method of calculation can vary depending on the tariff structure agreed with the client, whether it is a flat tariff with a guaranteed off-take, or a tariff that is broken down to capture fixed costs (which do not vary with consumption), and variable costs which do.

The benefit to the client is that they only pay when the service is available after commercial operation, thus eliminating a significant upfront capital investment they would have had to make if they adopted a traditional procurement process. In essence the client ends up paying for receiving a service (over a longer period of time) as opposed to receiving an asset.

It is also worth mentioning that typically ownership of the asset under a PPP is transferred to the client at the end of the contract period.

Are there any short term returns or benefits?

Typically for a project of this nature, returns are made over a long period of time. We always look at a project’s overall viability in the long run, as such, and as an investor our gains are realised over the life of the project.

Aside from this, we’ll also see returns in the form of additional business leads in Africa. The announcement of this PPP was high profile, and as a result it helps generate new business leads and other potential projects, both PPPs and private partnerships. We have already been in contact with other entities in East Africa following the Rwanda announcement, and we expect some of these to develop into new agreements.

What are some of the major risks facing PPP projects like this? And how can they be mitigated by a private company?

Often one of the major risks and challenges for governments involved with infrastructure projects under PPP models is obtaining financing, especially if a particular technology will be required or the suitable solution isn’t too clear.

The main risk, particularly across most emerging markets, is ensuring the project is sustainable and affordable. A project that is not structured in such a manner could potentially result in payment risk from the off-taker. The Kigali project has been structured in such a way whereby all the necessary analysis has been conducted where all parties are satisfied with the project’s viability, and the government has engaged with us to ensure that documentation provides adequate protection to all parties and appropriate risk allocation.

There are also potential engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) risks such as delay in construction due to most materials being imported. In case some items are missing and you cannot get it from local markets, delays could be expected. In such cases, we make sure the EPC contractors are ahead of schedule and proper project planning is implemented.

With this project this risk is mitigated as we have hands on experience in developing tailored water management solutions for varying environments and markets backed by a proven track record of identifying the correct solutions and technologies, and successful delivery and operation of similar projects. This has aided Metito in forging a strong and longstanding relationship with the IFC for financing such projects, mitigating typical risks of uncertain financing.

Another concern can be that when a private sector company comes in, especially a foreign one, then employment opportunities for locals will diminish. With Metito, we are always committed to developing an operation that is, as much as possible, operated by people from the market we’re working in. This is the case in all our markets globally, including Indonesia, Thailand and Egypt. Our motto is “local presence, global know-how” and it’s something evidenced by the establishing of Kigali Water, the company that will cement our commitment to the people and country of Rwanda.

Are there any major differences between PPP projects with African governments and those elsewhere in the world?

Every country is unique, and as such dealing with each government is different, just as is dealing with various private sector partners.

In some parts of Africa, the concept of a PPP (particularly in the water sector) is fairly new, so there is a bit more effort involved by all concerned to ensure the project is made bankable. Often this means longer lead times in developing such projects. However, with time, and with more projects achieving financial close, there will be enough precedents to make the overall transaction process smoother in the future.

Also there is a need to ensure that the project is affordable; where you find most of the proposed tariff is not equal to, or is less than, the local tariff. Usually the Ministry of Finance guarantees the gap.

What advice do you have for other global companies looking to enter win-win PPPs with African governments?

Doing business in Africa is very different to other parts of the world. Though there are some similarities to other emerging markets, one needs to understand the local requirements of each potential market within the continent, as these could differ significantly. It takes an in-depth understanding of the market, persistence, determination, and patience in turning project concepts to reality.

Metito involved in high profile strategic municipal water projects as economic recovery indicates new investment opportunities

07 April, 2015 – Metito, the leader and provider of choice for total intelligent water management solutions in emerging markets, has announced its participation in four strategic municipal water projects in Egypt worth more than EGP220 million.

Buoyed by a series of reforms by Egypt’s current government, the economic recovery of Egypt has taken robust steps in recent months as highlighted at the well-received Egyptian Economic Conference earlier last month. This positive wave of change has led to increased investment in many sectors, bringing back to life several infrastructure projects previously put on hold, as well as facilitating new ones.

Metito’s regional headquarters in Africa is based in Egypt, where the company has been active for many years developing sustainable projects in many strategic locations. Commenting on the healthy market activity Egypt has recently been witnessing, Karim Madwar, Metito Africa Managing Director, said: “Egypt will always be a key developing market for Metito and for the water and wastewater industry due to its strategic location, population growth and its inherent need for critical sustainable infrastructure solutions and facilities for both municipal and industrial applications.

“Concluding several years of political and economic volatility, Egypt’s economic recovery is now becoming steady with clear resurgence of smaller scale municipal projects important to the continued industrial development of the country, as well as large municipal projects critical to bigger needs of the Egyptian community; residential and commercial sectors alike. The projects we have been recently awarded are just four examples of this upturn that we see continuing,” he added.

With a longstanding partnership, the National Organisation for Potable Water and Sanitary Drainage (NOPWASD) assigned Metito the Arymon Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) and the Shahidy Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), which are expected to be completed in 2016.

El Gharbia Company for Water and Waste Water, a division of HCWW, has also contracted Metito to perform a reconstruction and extension of the Muhalla Water Treatment Plant in El Mahalla El Kobra City. The multimillion Egyptian pound project will see Metito build a new 70,000 m3/per day plant to treat water from the Nile River using Pulsator technology as a supplement to the two existing treatment plants. This plant is being developed as a sustainable treatment solution that is also cost effective as compared to refurbishing the existing plants dating from 1920 and 1970 respectively, and losing on non-revenue water from possible obsolete facilities.

The Toshka Compact Surface Water Treatment Plant for The New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), is the last of the four strategic project recently awarded and is set to be completed in Q4 2015.

Madwar concluded: “Our commitment to Egypt and to the Egyptians has never been compromised and we are now looking to play a role in helping the country leave the bottom of the investment cycle as we look forward to many more projects in the pipeline.”

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Metito wins the ‘Best Strategic Partnership – Asia’ award

The Top Transactions of the Year Awards 2015 have now been announced by Dealfeed International.  This year, Metito has been announced the winner of the ‘Best Strategic Partnership – Asia’ award for Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Japan Bank for International Cooperation acquisition of stake in Metito.

The awards celebrate the significant deals of all types and values, from mergers and acquisitions to IPOs and funding, that took place globally. The deals that were posted on DealFeed International over the last 12 months have been evaluated by Acquisition International Global Media Group team of analysts and nominees were shortlisted based on this review in addition to the number of views each deal receives. The reviewing panel also takes into consideration: deal volume, value, complexity and sectorial activity within the region when recognising the biggest achievers.

Dealfeed Intl. is part of a global publishing group based in the UK with a database of over 53,000 readers worldwide.

Congratulations Metito!

The project will see treated water used for irrigation in the Dubai Land community

30 October, 2014 – Metito, the leader and provider of choice for total intelligent water management solutions in the emerging markets, has been awarded the Living Legends community wastewater treatment project. The project assigned by Tanmiyat Group includes the design and build of an underground sewage treatment plant for this new Dubai Land development, located along Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road.

The new plant will have the capacity to treat 3,600 m3/day of domestic waste with the treated water then being used to accommodate the community’s irrigation, and possibly district cooling needs.

Metito was chosen by Tanmiyat Group for its wealth of experience in wastewater treatment and water recycling solutions, making it the ideal partner for supporting the development of the Living Legends community.

With Dubai Expo 2020 preparations on-going, the Living Legends locale will grow rapidly, requiring a solid and sustainable infrastructure to be in place which is able to evolve in parallel with the community.

Metito developed a state of the art design for the underground sewage treatment plant, which will be employing the latest Membrane Bio Reactor (MBR) technologies.

Recycled wastewater to be used in district cooling systems to reduce the eco footprint of Downtown Dubai

25June, 2014 – Metito, the leader and provider of choice for total intelligent water management solutions in the emerging markets, announced a partnership with Emaar Properties, the Dubai-based global property developer and provider of premier lifestyles, to recycle 20,000m3/day of wastewater to be used for district cooling in Downtown Dubai, its flagship mega-development. This is in line with Emaar’s continuous efforts to preserve the environment through reducing the eco-footprint of its developments.

District cooling systems for Downtown Dubai will use wastewater as makeup water for cooling towers to feed DCP1, DCP2 and DCP3 at Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, which will benefit the local environment by using an available resource rather than disposing of it. With sustainability high on the global agenda, this initiative will help Dubai move closer to its promising future as a model city for sustainable living.

As part of the $10 million project, Metito will provide a treated sewage effluent polishing plant along with 5 years operation and maintenance.

Ahmad Al Matrooshi, Managing Director of Emaar Properties, added: “Emaar is committed to protect the local environment and the UAE’s valuable resources and this project is testament to our commitment. We strive to find solutions that can stand the test of time, and using recycled wastewater to meet the water needs for district cooling is a strategic long-term initiative to promote sustainable development. We are delighted to be working with Metito, a long standing provider of ours, and look forward to the successful launch of this project in the months to come.”

Commenting on this, Hassan Al Dardery from Allied Consultants Ltd, the consultants for the project, said; “Emaar has a clear vision with regards on how to sustain the local environment that hosts its world-class developments and it is a great opportunity for us to be able to work with them on this project in Downtown Dubai, which is home to Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall. We are very happy to have Metito onboard this project, as we see them add great value in terms of experience, their commitment to provide airtight solutions and their on the ground customer support.”

The project will see water sewage effluent treated by the polishing Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology before being recycled into the makeup water of the district cooling systems. The scheme results in a reduction of the carbon foot print in excess of 36.85 tons of CO2 per day as opposed to using desalinated sea water for the application.

This project is scheduled to be completed in Q4 2014.

Water management solutions provider Metito has received a $30m syndicated loan from Bank of China and International Finance Corporation (IFC) to help expand its essential services in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia regions.

Metito is the first company to obtain long-term financing from Bank of China as part of the IFC B Loan program, a syndicated loan structure that introduces new banking relationships to the borrower.

The investment is part of IFC’s wider efforts to help companies expand into emerging markets, to transfer knowledge and expertise and improve access to essential infrastructure.

The loan will help Metito as it develops water treatment projects across the MENA region and parts of Asia, which will increase the availability of drinking water, improve wastewater treatment infrastructure, reduce waste costs, and decrease health risks to local communities.

“With support from IFC and Bank of China, we’ll be able to embark on new projects, providing quality water treatment solutions in water scarce areas,” said Rami Ghandour, managing director, Metito.

“Access to water is a fundamental challenge to economic development and growth,” said Chunyan Cai, SEO of Bank of China Middle East (Dubai) Limited, covering the MENA area. “With this long-term investment, which is hard to obtain in challenging markets, Bank of China will help support Metito as a leading provider of essential water and wastewater management solutions in water stressed regions.”

“This partnership demonstrates the potential for infrastructure investment in MENA, one of the most water scarce regions in the world,” said Mouayed Makhlouf, IFC regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Water scarcity is a global concern and IFC will continue to help boost water efficiency to meet the growing demand.”

Earlier, in June 2013, IFC had provided $50mn in loans to Metito and arranged another $20mn from the German development finance institution, DEG, to strengthen the company’s capital structure and support its expansion.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, IFC uses its capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity.

Established in 1912, Bank of China provides a full range of financial services in China’s mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and another 31 countries.

Metito is headquartered in Dubai and is active throughout the MENA region, Indonesia, and China. The company also owns and operates six wastewater treatment plants in China, with four more projects under construction.

Metito, a regional provider of water management solutions, has teamed up with Zulekha Healthcare Group to provide reliable, clean water supplies to four schools in the city of Nagpur.Access to clean, safe drinking water remains a challenge in India, according to a statement released by the companies. Around 88% of the 1.2 billion population now has access to safe drinking water, compared to 68 per cent in 1990, according to UNICEF.

This initiative will see water tanks, water coolers, and UV disinfection units installed at four schools in Nagpur city, Maharashtra State.The project entails equipment and hardware procurement, arrangement of labour, training, overseeing and monitoring related civil and plumbing work, and commissioning.

Mutaz Ghandour, Metito CEO said: He added: “It’s Metito’s mission to utilise its resources, knowledge and expertise to ensure a cleaner environment that starts with a basic human right: access to clean and safe water.

Zanubia Shams, CEO, Zulekha Healthcare Group commented: “Better facilities, clean drinking water, and a healthy environment are investments we make to build a better world. We proudly announce our association with this noble venture starting in Nagpur, India and we hope to take this forward all across the country.”

The four schools in Nagpur that will have the solutions installed are the Ravindranath Tagore Convent, Millat Urdu Upper Primary & High School, Public Urdu Upper Primary School, SHUMS Girls High School.

In 2011, Metito sponsored a Water Purification Plant in Shirwal village, near Pune, Maharashtra State, India. The plant provides safe drinking water for 30,000 people.

The Safe Water Supply for Schools programme is set to be completed by the 3rd quarter of 2014.

Egypt, 14th December, 2013 – Metito, the leader and provider of choice for total intelligent water management solutions in the emerging markets, has won a new project worth USD $ 25million to deliver water and wastewater systems for a new 650MW thermal power plant in Suez, Egypt.

In the presence of Ahmed Emam, Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Energy, Karim Madwar, Metito Africa Managing Director signed the contract with Hamdy Ibrahim, Chief of East Delta Electricity Production Company (EDEPC) in a ceremony attended by Gaber El-Desoky, Chief of Egyptian Electricity holding company and the PGESCO team assigned for the project.

This new win is a true reflection of Metito’s world class competitive edge as it comes after an international bid against some of the major water specialists and compliments the Group’s impressive projects’ portfolio across Africa.

Commenting on this project, Karim Madwar, Metito Africa Managing Director, said: “We are very proud to be part of Egypt’s new development plan through implementing this significant project. Metito’s intelligent water management solutions will contribute to the country’s infrastructure and help meet the much needed power demand from industries looking to operate at optimum capacity as well as citizens’ power needs.”

The contract will see Metito design, supply and install water and wastewater treatment systems to produce demineralised water at the quality needed for operating high pressure boilers, condensate polishing units, hypochlorite generation and chemical injection systems.

The scope of the contract also includes providing the client with a wastewater treatment plant and a water/oil separation system to treat the effluent water for discharging within the standard limits predetermined by the local environmental authorities.

“Scheduled to be completed in 2016, the project introduces the Ultra Filtration technology to improve the treated water quality for other sites including; Damitta, Banha, Giza North and Suez and to help in upgrading the efficiency of power supply across the country” added Karim.

Since 2004, Metito supplied various water and wastewater treatment packages to Egyptian Electricity holding company for over 10 power plant projects in Egypt including Nubaria, El Kuraymat, Tebbin and Cairo West Power plants among others.

UAE. Metito, the leader and provider of choice for total intelligent water management solutions in the emerging markets, will provide sewage treatment solutions for ADNOC’s Ruwais Housing Complex, a project that is worth more than USD $54 million.

The project will see Metito provide a new sewage treatment plant catering for the current needs of the development, as well as the long-term future expansion plans of ADNOC’s site at Al Ruwais housing complex. The project follows Metito’s successful completion and transfer of two earlier phases of sewage treatment plants for the same housing complex.

The new plant will treat up to 25,000m3 per day of raw sewage, with a designed expandable capacity of 30,000m3 per day to adapt to the future expansion of the housing complex. The selected treatment system is eco-friendly and capable of producing high standard effluent quality that will be re-used for irrigation and landscaping within the housing complex.

In addition to the sewage treatment plant, the project includes septage receiving station, sewage pumping stations, pressurised sewage and irrigation lines, and two days storage capacity irrigation tank.

Commenting on this project, Omar Zoubi, General Manager Metito Abu Dhabi said: “Metito has worked extensively with ADNOC in the past, and we are very honoured to have been entrusted with the responsibility of this new project at Al Ruwais.

“Ruwais is a strategic location for ADNOC and the UAE oil & gas sector. It houses a large population as well as significant industrial installations and so keeping the complex environmentally sustainable, and integrating a productive and efficient wastwater treatment system is integral to this development.” he added.

In recent news, Metito has also announced the completion of a $21 million Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) plant for ADMA-OPCO offshore operations, aimed at delivering potable water to Das Island.The plant uses SWRO to process seawater in four streams, each with a capacity of 682 m3 per day, ensuring flexible water supply to the ADMA-OPCO’s operational staff base on the island.

Commenting on the Das Island project, Zoubi said: “This project has been delivered successfully to the client, and is fully operational, meeting the demands laid out in the initial agreement.”