Veolia Transport awarded ferry service contract for the Morbihan islands

Paris, December 3, 2007
Following a call for tenders issued in April 2007, the Morbihan departmental council (conseil général, or CG) decided during its plenary session on November 27 to award Veolia Transport the management of the ferries that provide public transportation in the Morbihan islands. The seven-year contract will start on January 1, 2008.

The contract covers ferry services between Lorient and Quiberon and the islands of Belle-Ile-en-Mer, Groix, Houat and Hoëdic.
It represents total revenue for Veolia Transport of €143 million over the length of the contract.

Under the terms of the contract, the CG will provide Veolia Transport with seven roll-on roll-off ships (for passenger, vehicle and freight transportation) with a capacity of between 200 and 450 passengers, as well as with a 300-passenger fast ferry. Veolia Transport commits to building one roll-on roll-off ship (following the build-operate-transfer principle) and to purchase one fast passenger ferry to cope with demand during the tourist season.

Veolia Transport will take on all the personnel (both the crews and the ground staff), which represents a full-time work force of 250 people.

With annual average traffic of around 1,600,000 passengers, this is the biggest public ferry service in France after services to Corsica.

Olivier Brousse, General Manager France of Veolia Transport, said: "This contract confirms our expansion in ferry services. Our commitment is to deliver an exemplary public service and to contribute to the islands' development. Our teams' experience and expertise in customer service, and the many other ferry services we operate, were the deciding factors in our being selected for this contract."

Veolia Transport will set up a dedicated company named Compagnie OCEANE. It will be based in Lorient with operating sites in Quiberon, Belle-Ile-en-Mer, and on Groix, Houat and Hoëdic.

Top of the page

Veolia Transport

Veolia Environnement's transportation division operates in 27 countries and employs 81,897 people. Veolia Transport generated revenue of €4.95 billion in 2006. The company operates 30,800 road and rail vehicles and carries more than 2 billion passengers per year. www.veolia-transport.com

Veolia Transport has sound experience in operating ferry services. In France it operates the public service between Frioul and If, via SNCM, as well as services to the islands of Aix and Arz, shuttle service across the Loire River and the ferries that form part of the Toulon public transit system. Elsewhere, it operates ferries in the Netherlands (Vlissigen), Sweden (Gothenburg) and Norway (Finnmark, Helgelandske, Nordtrafik).

Veolia Environnement

Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE and NYSE: VE) is world leader in environmental services. With more than 300,000 employees the company has operations all around the world and provides tailored solutions to meet the needs of municipal and industrial customers in four complementary segments: water management, waste management, energy management and freight and passenger transportation. Veolia Environnement recorded revenue of €28.6 billion in 2006. www.veolia.com

Top of the page

Contacts