Vivendi paid US$246 million for a half stake in a treatment plant last year in Pudong, Shanghai's financial center, with a 50-year contract to supply the city with water. The plant supplies 1.9 million consumers and the company expects this number to rise to 5 million by 2010, spokeswoman Samantha Bowles said.
Vivendi expects the urban population of China alone to increase by 150 million over the next 10 years.
It's Asia's wealthier urban population that is driving demand for clean water and sewerage systems in their push for better living standards, says Fusion's Read. Disposable income in Shanghai, China's biggest city, rose more than sixfold in the past 12 years to 13,250 yuan (US$1,600), government figures show.
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