Veolia entrusted with the operation, maintenance and management of the district heating system of the city of Tashkent for a duration of 30 years

Veolia is awarded a 30-year concession contract for the operation, maintenance and management of the district heating system of the city of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It is the first contract awarded to the Group in the country. It is in line with the strategy of Veolia, which intends, both in France and abroad, to offer local communities its vast array of expertise and solutions to support them in their sustainable development and ecological transformation.

With more than 2.5 million inhabitants, Tashkent is the capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan as well as its largest city. It owns the biggest heating network, which supplies heat and hot water to some 1.2 million inhabitants, i.e. nearly half of the city's population. The system comprises 1,926 km of pipes, of which 73% are underground. Veolia will be responsible for its operation with revenues of 13.4 billion euros over the contract's 30 years.

This contract is the first of its kind in the country and relies on a public-private partnership.

Over 30 years, Veolia will provide:

• operation and maintenance of the district heating system and hot water facilities

• assessment of the district heating system and hot water facilities to identify what investments are required

• funding for the operating assets programme

• project management

Also, for two years, a pilot project for the modernisation of the heating system in two areas of the capital will be implemented. The completion of the pilot project will trigger the launch of an ambitious modernisation program covering the entire city.

"This success in Tashkent is a first step for Veolia in Uzbekistan. The management of district heating systems for municipal clients is one of our axes of development in Central and Eastern Europe. I am delighted that we are today providing this service to a new capital in this strategic region," said Antoine Frérot, Veolia's Chairman and CEO.

The Veolia Group's ambition is to be the benchmark company for the ecological transition. With operations on every continent and almost 179,000 employees, the Group designs and distributes useful, concrete solutions for the management of water, waste, and energy, which help bring about radical change. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia is growing access to resources, preserving the resources available, and renewing them. In 2020, the Veolia Group provided 95 million people with drinking water and 62 million with sanitation; it generated almost 43 million megawatt hours and recycled 47 million tons of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) posted consolidated sales of €26.010 billion in 2020. www.veolia.com

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