As part of the New South Wales Government's initiatives for sustainable water supply, the Sydney Water Corporation has awarded a major 250,000m³/day seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant contract to Veolia Water and construction joint venture partner John Holland. The project's aim is to help ensure Sydney has a sustainable and secure water supply, and comes after growing concern over climate change.

The contract is for the complete design, build, operation and maintenance of a reverse osmosis desalination plant with expected consolidated turnover of approximately 570 million Euros for Veolia Water over the life of the project. Veolia Water has formed a construction joint venture with John Holland for the project. Both organisations are currently working together delivering the Gold Coast Desalination Plant in Queensland.

The project consists of intake and outlet tunnels, seawater pump station, pre-treatment filters, a two pass reverse osmosis process, post-treatment and 40,000m³ storage. The desalination plant will have an initial capacity of 250,000m³/day while the seawater intake and brine discharge tunnels have been designed for a total capacity of 500,000m³/day to allow for future expansion. Work will begin on the project in late July and water will be delivered to Sydney residents by the Australian summer (November to March) 2009/2010. Veolia Water will operate the plant for 20 years.

The plant will have no net greenhouse impact as the same amount of renewable energy will be generated to offset electricity used by the plant. Seawater will be extracted and discharged from approved intake and discharge zones. An assessment of the seawater quality parameters has been undertaken by Sydney Water over the past two years, and this has included pilot plant studies to ensure a suitable process was selected to guarantee high quality drinking water.

Sydney's population has increased by more than a million people since 1974 and it is estimated that another million people will be living in Sydney in the next 25 to 30 years. The uncertainty of climate change also means that Sydney must secure a reliable supply of water that is not rainfall dependant.

Commenting on the contract, Antoine Frérot, Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Water said, "Veolia Water's leading expertise in reverse osmosis desalination technologies and plant operations will actively contribute to securing Sydney's future water supply. We are honoured to be working with the New South Wales Government, and believe that the integrated management of water resources by partners at all levels will help reduce water stress in areas affected by increasing climate uncertainty."

Veolia Water has various significant seawater desalination projects across the world, including the world's largest reverse osmosis desalination plant (320,000m³/day) in Ashkelon, Israel, and its latest contract signed in June 2007 for an 800,000m³/day desalination plant in Saudi Arabia.

Veolia Water has been operating in Australia for more than ten years and now has 13 municipal and industrial contracts providing water services to almost two million people. The company is now contributing its expertise in desalination and recycling to meeting the challenge of the worst recorded drought in Australia's history. In 2006, Veolia Water was selected for two other major projects in Australia: the 125,000m³/day design-build-operate contract for the Gold Coast Desalination Plant and as long term Scheme Operator for the 232,000m³/day Western Corridor Recycling Project in Queensland.