UK water watchdog woos investors with ‘guaranteed revenues’ as it seeks £50bn

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The UK’s Water Watchdog has promised investors to earn earn, any competition and minimum risk because it tries to make more than $ 50 billion drums to deal with the project deficit.

According to an offwat briefing paper seen by the Financial Times, investors will have the right to “collect”, “compromise opportunities”, “capped responsibility” and “investment” and “investment”.

The London Office’s Investment Bank added the document to investors at a conference in Jefferee last Friday that “competitive or market stranding risk is no exposure” – referring to the less likely to change water demand InfrastructureThe

In the next 15 years, about $ 50 billion in investing is needed to back around 30 new projects to improve Britain’s collapse infrastructure. Already allowed by FearThe projects include reservoirs, treatment work and water-transformation projects. Most of them will be supplied through private-finance schemes and will be paid mainly through additional surcharge on customer bills.

This is controversial because water companies have become a thunderbolt rod for public anger Financial problemThe sewage leaks and supply conflicts, as well as the family bills already increased.

The new infrastructure is meant to be Water deficit About 5 billion liters per day by 2050 according to the offwat. The environmental agency warns that the dry spring within 695 years has left the country at the risk of drought this summer.

Offwat said investors, including Agilia infrastructure partners, equitoics and Aviva, attended Friday’s conference.

The projects will be sitting outside the general five-year bill-setting regulatory process, they have their own management team and in some cases will be paid during construction. Investors will either be paid through a surcharge of the Customer Bill or for the entire life of the project during the license period of about 25 years.

Offwat argued that customers have arrangements to protect and reduce the cost of creating vehicles in private. However additional charges may probably concern customers, who have already confronted Increase the bill About 26 percent of the average in the family from April 1, the largest annual growth since privatization 36 years ago.

Common Wealth’s chief Mathew Lawrence, a Think-Tank, says new schemes are “coming out of jail free cards for water companies”.

“They did not produce adequate water infrastructure and now they cannot afford, so they are asked to set up a much more debt-bouquet balance sheet, which customers will also provide.”

Some schemes, including New Abdon and Fence Reservoir, have been modeled on the new Thames Tedway sewer tunnel, for which London people have been providing an additional surcharge on their bills since the beginning of construction – $ 26 a year. They will continue to pay for the tunnel for his 125 years of life.

Offwat has argued that new PFI schemes are needed to encourage competition and efficiency “Many of these projects have not provided water companies since privatization, and third -party suppliers and investors can be better placed to supply them”.

Martin Young, an independent water and energy consultant attending Friday’s conference, said, “The size and scale of the projects was such that it would create a whole new resource class and to invest in long -term investment with predictable cash flow, well with infrastructure investors and pension suppliers.”

No new reservoir has been built in 36 years after privatization. The new projects include 10 reservoirs, eight water recycling schemes, two prominent plants and nine transfer projects that will bring water to the south of the dry zone in the north.

Oft says: “Driving price for money for customers to be involved with investors and supply chain competitive. This type of busy activity is important to optimize the distribution of the projects, and we will work with companies to increase market busyness in the coming months.”

Jefferej refused to comment.