MUSCAT -- Majis Industrial Services SAOC (MISC), a one-stop water utility solutions provider has signed a SAA (Strategic Alliance Agreement) with Azaliya Water Services LLC, a subsidiary of Veolia Water, France and Mubadala, Abu Dhabi, for a specific programme of deliverables. The RO 8 million cost SAA between the two, which is for a period of 6 years, would enable a performance based operation and maintenance services for all the MISC's water utility assets that the company currently operates and those that are scheduled to be built over the next few years, implementation of a world-class asset management system that will address cost effective life cycle maintenance while bringing reliability of service to best in class standards, putting in place standard operating procedures, emergency response plans and HSE practices, assisting MISC with the overall management of the utility by establishing and targeting for continuous improvement through bench marked key performance indicators, and assisting MISC in establishing a customised customer service management facility. "This new partnership will enable us to provide better service to the customers of the Port of Sohar", Mohammed Mahrouqi, Chairman, said. "Indeed MISC will be able to take advantage of the extensive and well-known expertise of Veolia Water, the leading global operator of water services.
The long-term target is to develop this alliance by creating synergies and to provide the same service at other locations that may require such water and wastewater facilities". The SAA would also facilitate providing training to MISC employees on a continuous basis and periodically at Veolia's international facilities, quality assurance practices, various other specific advisory services to improve the reliability and performance of MISC as water utility operator along with jointly exploring other business opportunities that supplement the MISC core business and to create growth opportunities for both.
"We started operations in 2006 to operate and manage the Seawater Intake and Delivery Facility (SWIF) in the Sohar Industrial Port Area and since then the growth has been tremendous", Rahma Hamed al Musharafi, CEO, said. MISC is incorporated as a closely held joint stock company registered with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the Sultanate of Oman.
The company was established in April 2006 as a wholly Government owned entity, represented by Ministry of Finance (99.88 per cent) and the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE) (0.12 per cent).
Azaliya is a joint company developed by the Veolia Water and Mubadala Development Company to build up a strategic and long term partnership gathering all water and sanitation activities of Veolia Water portfolio in the Middle East and North Africa. Dedicated to outsourcing services to local authorities and industrial, Azaliya provides water services to more than 9.5 million people and wastewater services to 6.8 million people.
© Oman Daily Observer 2011
