Desalination plant to Secure Water and Jobs

The AquaSure consortium, consisting of Suez Environnement, Degrémont, Thiess and Macquarie Capital Group will build the $3.5 billion desalination plant, with key features including:

• A guarantee to deliver desalinated water by the end of 2011;
• Delivery of water to meet Victoria’s high water quality standards;
• Flexibility to supply between 0 and 100 per cent of the plant’s capacity in block increments;
• Proven and secure desalination technology; and
• Security of finance for the project in a constrained global economy.

The desalination plant will be operational from the end of 2011 and will to secure water supplies for Melbourne, Geelong and towns in Western Port and South Gippsland.

AquaSure has committed to additional features and projects, to ensure Victoria’s desalination plant was not only Australia’s biggest, but Australia’s most advanced, including:

• Secure underground power supply;
• Commitment to renewable energy certificates to offset the plant’s energy use;
• Minimising the impact on the local environment, including continued use of Williamson’s Beach and the best possible visual amenity at the plant site; and
• Delivering benefits to the local community, such as a new broadband fibre optic cable and a secure local water supply.

Victoria’s Desalination Project is being delivered as a Public Private Partnership which ensures that water remains in public hands.

 The desalination plant is being built to deliver up to 150 billion litres of water a year, with the capacity to increase production to 200 billion litres if necessary.
The desalination plant gives the Government complete flexibility to order water in annual block increments, starting at zero, then 50, 75, 100, 125, 150 billion litres as required.