Ballarat Water
| TIF Interest in Ballarat Water: | 100.0% |
Ballarat Water owns six water treatment plants in and around Ballarat, a regional city in central Victoria.
Ballarat Water provides water treatment services to the Central Highlands Water Authority (the Authority). The Authority in turn provides potable (safe to drink) water to Ballarat and the surrounding areas in Victoria.
Although treated water volumes were below budget by 17 percent for 2006/2007, EBITDA was above budget, reflecting administrative cost savings during the year.
Ballarat Water was purchased from Thames Water in August 2006 for approximately $30.2 million (including transaction costs) via an investment in both Equity and Loan Notes. The company's services are provided under a Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) contract, which has a remaining duration of 19 years. The majority of payments from the Authority are indexed to inflation.
The dominant operational issue during the year has been drought conditions in the area. These conditions adversely affected volume demand, as they resulted in water restrictions imposed by the Authority. However, due to the contractual structure of the project, Ballarat Water is somewhat insulated from demand volatility.
Recent rainfall in the area is promising; however, ongoing rain is required before a material impact on reservoir levels will be achieved. Current reservoir levels at White Swan and Lal Lal remain low at the time of writing, with capacity at 24 percent and 9 percent respectively. As a consequence, significant water restrictions remain in place.
Contractors were appointed by the Authority in June 2007 to construct the 87km Ballarat link of the Goldfields Superpipe. The Goldfields Superpipe will link the White Swan reservoir with Bendigo's Sandhurst reservoir and will enhance the security of Ballarat's water supply. It is expected to be completed by June 2008 and will deliver up to 10,000 megalitres of additional water per annum.
Ballarat Water
Financial and operational performance
| 30 June year end | 2006 | 2007 |
| Volume (ml) | 13,932 | 11,327 |
| Revenue ($m) | 7.7 | 7.6 |
| EBITDA ($m) |
| 3.0 |
For more information please visit the Ballarat Water website