French President Mr Francois Hollande visited the wastewater treatment plant in Chongqing Tangjiatuo
During an official trip to China, French President Mr. François Hollande, visited the wastewater treatment plant in Chongqing Tangjiatuo, an example of a circular economy, and officially launched Derun Environment, a leading environmental group in China.
Today, the French President Mr. François Hollande; Mr. HUANG Qifan, the mayor of Chongqing; Mr. Gérard Mestrallet, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SUEZ and CEO of ENGIE; Mr Jean-Louis Chaussade, CEO of SUEZ; and Mr. LI Zu Wei, Chairman of Chongqing Water Assets1 , have visited the wastewater treatment plant in Chongqing Tangjiatuo, a concrete example of a circular economy in the field of water management in China.
Operating since 2009, the plant treats wastewater from around a million inhabitants. It uses INNODRY 2E® technology developed by SUEZ, which enables the facility to treat all the sludge produced, up to 240 tonnes per day, by dehydrating it and converting it into alternative fuel, for use within the plant itself, thus rendering it partly self-sufficient in energy. ‘This solution is an example of the circular economy approach, transforming sludge into secondary fuel, thereby limiting the use ofcoal and the production of green house gas emissions. The methanization of the sludge produced by the treatment of the wastewater from some 100,000 inhabitants generates the equivalent of 3 GWh of energy. This is a concrete exampleof the solutions being developed by China to mitigate against climate change’, said Gérard Mestrallet.
During this visit, French President, Mr. François Hollande, also formalized the launch of Derun Environment2 , thus establishing a leading environmental group in China, marking a new level of cooperation between the two countries in the field of the environment.
Derun Environment was born of an agreement between SUEZ and its partner NWS Holdings3 working alongside Chongqing Water Assets.
Under the agreement, Derun Environment is a leading player in environmental services in China, from the production and distribution of drinking water, the treatment and reuse of wastewater, waste-to-energy and waste recycling,soil remediation, and, in general, the development of technologies to improve environment protection.
‘This agreement is the culmination of a 13-year successful partnership between Chongqing municipality, SUEZ and its local partners. We are proud of this long-lasting relationship, which has notably led to significant improvements to the water network and the wastewater management of this area, based upon a circular economy approach. Together, we wish to support Chinese authorities and industries in developing innovative solutions, designed to address climate change and sustainable resource management’, added Jean-Louis Chaussade.
LI Zuwei said ‘SUEZ and Chongqing’s cooperation can date back to 2002. Over the past thirteen years, the field of our collaboration has expanded to industrial water management, environmental technology R&D and strategic investment from the original cooperative area in potable water supply, sewage and sludge treatment. SUEZ not only has brought investment to Chongqing, but also more importantly, has introduced its advanced technologies and management expertise. Through the cooperation on Derun Environment, both parties will be exploring and developing industrial cluster effect and technological upgrading in environmental industry, so as to form the new mode of public-private-partnership (PPP) which has the mechanism of profit and risk sharing. I strongly believe that the founding of Derun Environment will further enhance our collaboration and improve the technological and managerial level of the environmental industry in Chongqing.’
SUEZ has been active in China for 40 years. Since the beginning of its operations in Chongqing, SUEZ and its partners have realized total investment of more than 3 billion RMB, which makes Chongqing a key area of investment in China for SUEZ. Following Derun Environment's establishment, SUEZ will continue to expand its investment in Chongqing, assisting the local government along with its partners to facilitate Chongqing’s ecological construction and its environmental industry development.
1 Chongqing Water Assets Management Co,. Ltd.
2 Chongqing Derun Environment Co., Ltd.
3 NWS Holdings Limited, listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange