• The Ivorian government renews its confidence in its long-time partners Veolia and PFO Africa for the La Mé drinking water treatment plant, by signing a 15-year operation and maintenance contract with the Société Ivoirienne des Eaux et de l’Environnement (SIEE), a joint venture between PFO Africa and Veolia.

The La Mé plant, one of the largest single-phase structures in West Africa, contributes to Abidjan’s growing water needs. The Ivorian government initiated the project in 2018 and entrusted the PFO Africa and Veolia consortium with its construction. Veolia ensured its conception, supply of equipment, assembly, project management, plant commissioning and training of operating personnel.

Operating for several months, the plant is located 30 km north of Abidjan on an 8-hectare site. At full capacity, it will produce 240,000 m³ of drinking water per day and it will cover the daily needs of 2.4 million Abidjan inhabitants.

The plant addresses the issue of water access in Abidjan’s northeastern areas (north of Cocody, Abobo and soon Yopougon) by treating surface water drawn from the La Mé river. This is brand new for Abidjan only fed by groundwater. To this end, an exemplary water treatment process ensures quality production in sufficient quantity throughout the year, in both dry and rainy seasons, whatever the turbidity or the water color.

“I’m very proud of this new contract won in Ivory Coast with our partner PFO Africa. It confirms our Group’s ambitions in this region and our capacity to support countries in their ambition to develop and sustain essential structures that improve access to water for citizens in the long run and contribute to their country’s economic development.” specifies Estelle Brachlianoff, Chief Executive Officer of Veolia.

“This infrastructure contributes to improving populations’ living standards and well-being. La Mé’s starting up confirms our ambition : being a corporate citizenship at the service of our country.” highlights Clyde Fakhoury, General Manager of PFO AFRICA.

About PFO Africa

PFO AFRICA is an ambitious multi-business group committed to the development of Ivory Coast and the African continent in 6 complementary trades: construction, real estate, facility management, energy and water. Founded by architect Pierre Fakhoury, the group has over 50 years of experience and solid expertise in complex and large-scale projects, and supported by over 4,000 employees in 6 countries every day. The PFO AFRICA group has generated sales of 325 billion CFA francs (500 million euros). www.pfoafrica.com

About Veolia

Veolia Group aims to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. Present on five continents with nearly 220,000 employees, the Group designs and deploys useful, practical solutions for the management of water, waste and energy that are contributing to a radical turnaround of the current situation. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, to preserve available resources and to renew them. In 2022, the Veolia group provided 111 million inhabitants with drinking water and 97 million with sanitation, produced nearly 44 million megawatt hours and recovered 61 million tonnes of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) achieved consolidated revenue of 42.885 billion euros in 2022. www.veolia.com