Melbourne, Australia

What is it?

A 30-year BOT contract for a 444,000 m³/d SWRO project to supply the city of Melbourne, its suburbs and regional towns in Australia.

Who is responsible?

The Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) is responsible for the management of the contract on behalf of the Victorian Government. The AquaSure consortium - consisting of Suez Environnement, Thiess and Macquarie Capital - secured the contract to develop the project in July 2009. A Thiess-Degrémont joint venture will design, construct and operate the plant, along with an 84km transfer pipeline and an 87km underground power supply. Suez Environnement, Thiess and Macquarie Capital provided the bulk of the A$800 million (US$670 million) equity component, while 32 financial institutions provided a debt package of A$3.7 billion (US$3.1 billion). PricewaterhouseCoopers advised on the financing package.

What makes it special?

• Wonthaggi is the first large-scale desal project in Australia to be privately financed, and is being delivered under the government's Partnerships Victoria policy. It also represents the largest ever financing package put together for a desalination plant anywhere in the world. Despite the lack of a direct precedent, the experienced project finance team was able to draw on international best practice to get the deal done in the midst of the worst financial crisis for decades.

• The genius behind the debt package was a temporary treasurer's guarantee of syndication from the Victorian government, which helped convince no fewer than 32 blue-chip global financial institutions to participate in the project.

• The client, DSE, is to be congratulated for having the foresight to break the mould and take desalination financing in Australia to a new level.