Aqualia

Aqualia

About

Aqualia

Aqualia is the fourth largest water management company in Europe and the ninth in the world in terms of population served, according to the latest Global Water Intelligence ranking (March 2021). It currently serves nearly 45 million people in 17 countries: Algeria, Arab Emirates, Colombia, Chile, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Gerorgia, Italy, Mexico, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Tunisia. In the financial year 2021, it had a revenue of 1,170 million euros with a business portfolio of more than 15,361 million euros. The company's capital is owned by the citizen services group FCC (51%) and the Australian ethical fund IFM Investors (49%).

Aqualia is a benchmark in the sector and stands at the vanguard as a specialised, transparent and innovative entity. We've reached this position thanks to the commitment and extensive experience of our team of professionals who are constantly striving to improve efficiency in production processes and optimise resources, while placing citizens clearly at the core of our actions and policies.

This work approach and the continuous progress in innovation and in the use of new technologies have enabled us to bolster the company's leadership in the Spanish market and make headway in this regard in international markets, based on an ambitious but moderate strategy defined to consolidate the company's international presence. Sustainable development has a distinctively intrinsic role in Aqualia's business model: combining the generation of social benefits with a fair profit yield from activities puts the company in a privileged situation in the water management sector.

Aqualia's commitment and responsibility vis-à-vis the municipalities where it carries out its activities go beyond merely rendering a service: it has always sought to contribute to improving the well-being of people, particularly the most vulnerable groups.

2021, an exemplary year for Aqualia

In a context of crisis resulting from the pandemic, Aqualia has managed to achieve a renewal rate of almost 100% in its national concessions. The company also reached agreements with different public operators such as the Bilbao-Bizkaia Water Consortium (CABB), which provides drinking water and sanitation services to nearly 1 million people in the Basque Country.

On the international scene, Aqualia maintained and even accelerated the growth rate of previous years. The award of three contracts to manage water for 90,000 inhabitants near Paris, the acquisition of 80% of the operator Georgia Global Utilities, which operates the water cycle for 1.4 million people in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, and the award of the O&M (Operation and Maintenance) in the water facilities of the Jizan Industrial Area (Saudi Arabia) are some of the most important achievements of the company in 2021.

The good pace of construction of the mega-infrastructures in which the company is involved, such as the Abu Rawash Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Cairo, the desalination plant in Guaymas (Mexico) and the El Salitre WWTP in Bogotá - which came into operation at the end of 2021 - confirms the reinforcement of its leadership position and Aqualia's reliability in all stages of the end-to-end water cycle.

Commitment to sustainability and decarbonisation

Aqualia seeks to provide environmental, social, and economic solutions, and strives to provide a quality service at all stages of the end-to-end water cycle, preserving water resources and the environment and improving management efficiency.

The company is working on more than 20 R&D&I projects related to the transformation of waste into resources, water circularity and carbon neutrality. Some good examples are the H2020-MIDES project, which has developed a desalination system that is unique in the world with no energy cost; the Life-Metamorphosis project, which can reduce energy demand by up to 73% and associated CO2 emissions by 80%; or the AD-VISOR project, which transforms meat industry by-products into sustainable fuel and other value-added products in wastewater treatment plants.

The 2021-2023 Strategic Sustainability Plan, on which Aqualia has been working intensively this year, is based on adapting to and minimising climate change. The launch of this plan is a milestone for the company, as it defines projects, actions and performance indicators and measures Aqualia's contribution to the SDGs.

The company is working to achieve the goal of being carbon neutral by 2050, as well as achieving 100% water circularity, among other important objectives.

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