In June 2001 following an international call for tender issued in 1997, the Brussels region awarded Aquiris - a consortium led by Veolia Water - a concession contract to design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) the Brussels North wastewater treatment plant for a period of 20 years.
The Brussels North wastewater treatment plant is scheduled for commissioning during the first half of 2007, and will treat wastewater from the Brussels North Region (the "North" and "La Woluwe" sub catchment areas) as well as wastewater from Flanders. It will use innovative processes to treat the wastewater, biosolids and air. These processes have been developed by the Veolia Water Group and include (AZENIT P®, ACTIFLO®, ATHOS®). These processes help to ensure that the wastewater treatment plant complies with new European treatment standards while at the same time reducing pollution levels and making it possible to build a more compact sized plant.
The Brussels region and Aquiris have signed the biggest public private partnership (PPP) contract in the water sector in Belgium.
