State Water and Sewage Company of Rio de Janeiro (CEDAE) in Brazil has awarded Rio de Janeiro's water distribution concession to a consortium of Igua and Aegea.

Aegea Saneamento, through a consortium formed by the company, Grupo Equipav, GIC (Sovereign Fund of Singapore) and Itaúsa, won the dispute in two of the four blocks. Aegea won blocks 1 and 4, which cover the South, North and Center regions of the capital and 26 cities in the state of Rio de Janeiro, benefiting more than 10 million people. Among the planned investments are the allocation of R$ 2.9 billion (US$554 million) to the Guandu River Basin and R$ 2.6 billion (USD488 million) to the depollution of Guanabara Bay. The Barra da Tijuca lagoon complex will receive R$ 250 million (USD46 million).

The Aegea consortium offered a bid of R$ 8.2 billion (USD1.54 billion) and R$ 7.2 billion (USD1.35 billion) in blocks 1 and 4, respectively, which resulted in the company's victories.

Iguá Saneamento SA won the auction for the concession of Block 2 of assets of CEDAE for a grant of R$ 7.286 billion (USD1.36 billion). The new concession will be financed with additional capital invested by the company's current shareholders, as well as financing from the capital market.

The concession contract will run for 35 years. CEDAE, as a state-owned company, will remain responsible for the supply of drinking and treated water to the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro. Iguá will be responsible for water distribution and sewage collection and treatment services in the area established by the concession.