Press releases

The Emilia-Romagna Regional Agency for Water and Waste Services (Atersir), acting as contracting authority, has officially awarded Hera the tender for managing the integrated water service in the province of Rimini (Emilia-Romagna region), with the exception of the municipality of Maiolo.

The figures of the tender won by the Hera Group

The tender concerns 24 municipalities in the Rimini area, including the province’s capital, and over 160,000 thousand users, distributed along a network extending over 3,000 km.

Thanks to this tender, one of the first to be called in Italy, the new water distribution service in the Rimini area will be based on sustainability and innovation, and the Hera Group, which is also the outgoing manager for the 24 municipalities, will be responsible for the service over the next 18 years.

The contract, which will be signed in the upcoming months between the Group and Atersir, is worth over 1.7 billion euro.

Competition that creates shared value for communities

In order to maintain management of this service, in a competitive context open to the most qualified operators in the water sector, the Hera Group has drawn up a proposal capable of reconciling service efficiency, and therefore economic impact, with best practices that guarantee high safety standards. Asset management and environmental aspects will thus be monitored by using innovative technologies that have already been operationally tested. Hera is also focusing on innovation to guarantee resilience in the management of the water cycle, a service characterised by a large number of infrastructures and therefore, more than other sectors, subject to the consequences of climate change.

In addition to the high service quality already guaranteed by the Group in this area, the new management will therefore make substantial investments to increase the resilience of networks and plants and create increasing shared value for local communities.

250 million in investments to increase safety and resilience

The Hera Group’s plan calls for a substantial part of the approximately 250 million euro planned for investments in the Rimini area over the next 18 years to be used to prevent and limit leaks, to upgrade the network and to further increase its reliability and resilience, thus providing the best guarantee of service continuity.

The investment plan also includes measures to optimise the sewage system and upgrade the purification plants, as well as solutions for the implementation of rainwater collection plans.

In order to increasingly improve the efficiency of networks and plants, the use of more traditional techniques will be enhanced with digitalisation and the most advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence and big data, already used by the multi-utility in other areas, for example to optimise maintenance activities or increase energy savings in purification.

The Group’s proposal also guarantees a level of service that goes significantly beyond the standards required by ARERA, the Regulatory Authority, both in terms of the contractual quality inherent in relations with the user, and in terms of technical standards.

Chairman Tommasi: “from competition in public services shared value for the territory”

We are particularly satisfied with the awarded tender for managing the integrated water service for the province of Rimini”, explains Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano, Executive Chairman of the Hera Group. “We have always made our outstanding know-how available to the areas in which we operate, not only in terms of safety and service management, but also environmental sustainability, all of which will be confirmed and reinforced with the start of the new management. Tenders, not only in the water cycle, represent a challenge that the Group has prepared itself to face for some time. This achievement demonstrates once again how important it is for us, in addition to providing service quality and continuity, to invest and create positive effects for local communities.”

CEO Venier: “local jobs and professional skills maintained”

“The spirit with which we will sign this long term contract with Atersir for the integrated water service in the 24 municipalities of the Rimini area has nothing to do with simply continuing to manage it”, says Stefano Venier, CEO of the Hera Group. “In addition to maintaining local jobs and professional skills, we intend to create new value for Rimini and the municipalities managed.”

The 24 municipalities found in the Province of Rimini involved in the tender

Bellaria-Igea Marina, Casteldelci, Cattolica, Coriano, Gemmano, Misano Adriatico, Mondaino, Montecolombo Montescudo, Montefiore Conca, Montegridolfo, Morciano di Romagna, Novafeltria, Pennabilli, Poggio Torriana, Riccione, Rimini, Saludecio, San Clemente, San Giovanni in Marignano, San Leo, Sant’Agata Feltria, Santarcangelo di Romagna, Talamello and Verucchio.