Areva open to water partnership
Areva open to water partnership

Areva open to water partnership

Areva is hoping to sign a long-term water-supply deal with the government.
Ogone Tlhage
With the sale of its Erongo desalination plant now off the table, French uranium miner Areva is keen to lock in the Namibian government as a long-term off-taker.

This follow''s the government''s announcement last week of its intention to construct a 25-million-cubic-metre desalination plant.

Asked what the announcement meant for Areva, it said it was keen to partner with the government in supplying water to the coast.

Areva also stated that it was open to private-sector stakeholders.

Its spokesperson, Sugnet Smit, said: “The Areva plant is clearly a central part of the solution to the long-term water-supply security issue in Namibia. We are in discussion with the government regarding a long-term water-supply agreement.

“On the one hand this would secure water supply in the long term, and on the other hand it would allow the implementation of any transaction scheme, including public-private-partnerships, involving both private and public stakeholders.”

The minister of water, agriculture and forestry, John Mutorwa, announced in September that the government would not buy the desalination plant.

Speaking on the matter at a stakeholder briefing, he was quoted as saying: “Government has not declined to have anything to do with Areva. We will still get water from their desalination plant. It is just the purchasing of the plant which was rejected and we are still talking to them.”

Finance Minister Calle Schlettwein had told Bloomberg on the sidelines of an African Union summit in June that Areva''s asking price was too steep. “We have some challenges with the Areva plant. The price that was offered was not acceptable to us,” he said.



OGONE TLHAGE

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-23

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