Catalonia’s Supreme Court cancels the tender allocating Greater Barcelona’s water supply to Acciona

Barcelona (ACN).- Catalonia’s Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it was cancelling the tender that allocated the service of the publicly-owned Aigües Ter-Llobregat (ATLL) – which supplies water to the 5 million people of Greater Barcelona – to the joint venture led by Acciona. In early November, the Catalan Government decided to allocate the tender privatising ATLL’s service to the joint venture led by Acciona, which includes the Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual. The operation meant that the Catalan Executive cashed in €300 million in 2012 and €700 million was to be split over the next 50 years. The operation was aiming to reduce the Catalan Government’s deficit for 2012, which was finally set at 1.96% of Catalonia’s GDP. However, another company participating in the tender, Agbar, appealed against the decision because it thought that Acciona was not fully respecting an annex of the terms of reference. In addition, an internal body of the Catalan Government analysing the public tender’s concession issued a report backing Agbar’s views. The Catalan Government defended the allocation by saying that the annex had not been considering an exclusion condition. In addition, it stated that Acciona was offering a cheaper price for water, resulting in a better service for the citizens. However, Catalonia’s Supreme Court has backed Agbar’s view and has cancelled the allocation of the tender. Acciona had already announced on Tuesday that it will appeal to the Spanish Supreme Court and, in the case that it loses the concession, it will sue the Catalan Government for damages, since the contract came in to effect on the 1^st of January. Meanwhile, the concession remains in Acciona’s hands, until the Spanish Supreme Court decides on the outcome of the issue.