Pécs local council takes decision on waterworks operator

The local council of Pécs on Thursday decided to merge the former operator of its waterworks into the new operator, drawing to a close the resolution of a dispute over the waterworks' assets. The local council decided to merge Pécsi Vízmű, the former operator of the waterworks, with Tettye Forrásház, its operator at present. Pécsi Vízmű will have no legal successor. The decision on the merger was taken to make managing corporate relations easier after the legal dispute with Suez Environnement was resolved, said mayor Zsolt Páva. In 2009, upset over high water fees, the local council unilaterally terminated a contract by Pécsi Vízmű, then owned by Suez Environnement, to operate the city's waterworks. The contract was terminated after the local council failed to reach an agreement with Suez Environnement on buying out its stake in Pécsi Vízmű. The local council-owned Tettye Forrásház then took over the waterworks and physically barred Pécsi Vízmű's management from the site. Pava announced in April that Pécs had repurchased Pécsi Vízmű from Suez Environment for a token price of €1. It also agreed to pay Suez Environnement HUF 3 billion in compensation, well under the HUF 10 billion initially demanded by the French-owned company.