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HUNDREDS of millions of dollars of Victorian water Shaun Carney
profits will flow overseas because no local Michelle Grattan
companies are capable of building and running Michael Gordon
Hugh Mackay
Victoria's $3.1 billion desalination plant.
Robert Manne
Sushi Das
A strong field of international water companies is Hugh White
bidding for the plant, with the winner set to control a
third of Melbourne's water needs after 2011.

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Water experts have told The Sunday Age that no more
Australian company is capable of building and
operating the massive desalination plant, which will
provide 150 billion litres of water a year. Get free news emails from theage.com.au. Sign-up
now
Water bills will double in Melbourne in the next five years to pay the private firms for building and operating
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the plant.
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News of the globalisation of Melbourne's water supply comes as Water Minister Tim Holding returns to animated radar and more direct to
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Melbourne today from a two-week visit to the Middle East to inspect desalination projects and attend a
water conference. Weatherzone Silver Membership
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Favourites to win the desalination plant contract are Veolia, which has the contract for the Sydney
desalination plant, and Degremont, which built and operates Perth's first desalination plant.

Each will bid as part of separate consortiums for Victoria's desalination plant near Wonthaggi.

Veolia is also the parent company for Melbourne's train operator, Connex.

Marc Simon, managing director of Degremont in Australia, said expressions of interest from companies SPONSORED LINKS
were due by May. More Australians Choose Toyota
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Degremont would probably join with a big — but undisclosed — Australian construction company and bank Greatoffers.toyota.com.au
for its bid, he said.
 The standard contract for a desalination plant would be a "20-to-30-year" agreement to run it.
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Ashley Mason, executive general manager of operations with construction giant Leighton Holdings, said the
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company would submit several bids for the desalination project.

"Most of our group companies will be interested, one way or another," he said.
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"John Holland, which is part of our group, is already building the ones in the Gold Coast and Sydney, and Consolidate loans into 1 fixed payment
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"I understand also Leighton Contractors and Thiess will be bidding in their own right as well — the three of
them will be registering an interest and part of separate consortiums."

Mr Mason said the construction phase of the plant was likely to take two to three years.

Construction giant Multiplex, which had representatives on Mr Holding's overseas trip, is also likely to be
interested in the contract.

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