The French energy and environment group Suez said Monday it was considering acquiring a stake in a Chinese company that supplies water to the 32 million residents of Chongqing in southwestern China.
"We could acquire an interest" in Chongqing Water, Suez chief executive Gerard Mestrallet said in an interview with the French radio station Europe 1.
Suez at the moment manages the water supply for 13.5 million Chinese residents as well as 14 million in France.
Suez said in a statement it would also expand its waste water management plant northeast of Chongqing in Tangjiatuo, enlarging its capacity to 450,000 cubic metres a day from 300,000 cubic metres.
The company has in addition been selected as a partner in an economic and residential development project in the city of Tianjin near Beijing.
The French group said it would draft a master plan for the management of water, waste and energy services in the development zone.
The announcement here coincided with a visit to China of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who on Monday oversaw the signing of about 30 billion dollars in aviation, nuclear and other deals in what he described as an unprecedented day of trade with China.
The two major agreements unveiled on the second day of Sarkozy's visit were contracts for European aerospace giant Airbus to deliver 160 aircraft and French firm Areva to build two nuclear reactors.
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