2005 - 2006 - Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2012

AUSTRIA PART 3 (ii): COMPANY ANALYSIS: LOCAL/REGIONAL PLAYERS
Austria
Aquaplus
Aquaplus is jointly held by Vienna Water (33%, owned by the city of Vienna), Porr Infrastruktur GmbH
(33%, construction) and Österreichische Bundesforeste (33%, the Federal Forestry Company). It has
been developed to allow Vienna Water to operate in the private sector for BOT contracts in Austria
and Central and Eastern Europe. Aquaplus has two subsidiaries; Ariwa Abwasserreinigung im
Waldviertel GmbH (Ariwa) and Aquasystems and a management contract with VAK Plus.
Czech Republic
2005 Hodonin Management 70,000 water & wastewater
VAK Plus holds 61% of VAK Hodonin, the company responsible for water and wastewater services in
Breclav, Hodonin and Bzenec in Moravia. The contract started in January 2005, and is responsible for
the management of the municipal water and sewerage services. VAK Hodonin was in turn awarded a
30 year concession in 1993. In 2004, a new water treatment plant entered service at Bzenec, serving
the area. The wastewater treatment plant has a PE of 100,000.
Ariwa
Ariwa was founded in 2001 for developing water and sewage treatment BOT contracts in Austria.
That year, it gained the first sewage treatment BOT in Lower Austria, serving the city of Waidhofen
Thaya. Construction was begun on September 21, 2001 and the facility entered service at the end of
2002, with the municipality commencing payments in March 2003. The sewage treatment plant has a
capacity of 16,000PE with a capital cost of €4 million and an operational period of at least 25 years.
Aquasystems
Aquasystems DOO was founded for the Maribor wastewater treatment concession project in
Slovenia. This concession operated by Suez, with Porr Infrastruktur being one of the main
shareholders in Aquasystems.
Slovenia
1997 Maribor 25 year concession 190,000 wastewater treatment
Suez was the preferred bidder for the Maribor concession in 1997 and subsequently joined with
Aquasystems. €30 million investment is needed and the concession project will generate a turnover of
€8 million. There is an EBRD loan attached to the project. The population equivalent for the plant is
190,000 (equivalent to €29 per capita per annum) and can be expanded to 285,000 at a later date.
Construction started in June 2000, with the pre-treatment phase completed in June 2002 and the
facility became fully operational in February 2004. The operational contract runs from 2004. Maribor is
Slovenia’s second largest city. This was the first BOT wastewater treatment contract to be awarded in
Central and Eastern Europe.
Contact Details
Name: Aquaplus
Address: Absberggasse 47 A-1103
Vienna, Austria
Tel: Tel: + 43 (0)1 603 10 12 - 3917
Fax: Fax: + 43 (0)1 603 10 12 - 3920
Web: www.aquaplus.at
Web: www.ariwa.at
Dr. Rainer Wiedemann (General Manager) Dr. Robert Nusser (Manager)
Dr Kiril Atanasoff-Kardjalieff (Manager) Gerald Loew (Manager)
288 Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2005 – 2006