Heineken enters into a Public Private Partnership to improve water availability in Ethiopian region of Harar

On Monday Harar Regional State, Vitens Evides International B.V. (VEI) and HEINEKEN Breweries S.C., the Ethiopian brewery owned by Heineken N.V. (HEINEKEN), were key signatories to a Public Private Partnership (PPP) to formally start a sustainable water services project in Harar Regional State (Harar), Ethiopia. This project is co-funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Sustainable Water Fund. The PPP’s objective is to ensure long term water availability in Harar where over 300.000 people are currently facing water shortages.

The partners that consist of businesses, governmental institutions and NGO’s share the goal to improve the long term water availability for urban, rural and industrial consumers in Harar. The signing marks the official start of the project that has been running since April 2013 and will continue until March 2017.

Protecting water resources is a key focus area of HEINEKEN’s global sustainability programme “Brewing a Better Future”. Part of HEINEKEN’s 2020 commitments is to aim for significant water balancing by its production units in water-scarce and distressed areas. Developing and actively participating in this PPP in Ethiopia underlines the importance to HEINEKEN of being a true partner and recognising the need for responsible water usage.

The project focusses on a number of targets, most notably the creation of water access for 50.000 people, where HEINEKEN specifically takes responsibility for ensuring 25.000 people in rural areas get access to water by means of water buffering schemes and other water supply solutions.

The project will utilise an integrated approach to address some of the region’s most urgent water related challenges, such as the increasing pressure on Harar’s main water sources. It will also address the high failure risk of the current drinking water supply and the current water insufficiencies.

Mr. Johan Doyer, General Manager of HEINEKEN in Ethiopia said: “Water is vital to our business, but it’s also vital for every person on the planet. We recognise the need for responsible water usage, even more so in areas that face water scarcity. We are proud to take part in the PPP together with the Dutch Government, the Harar Regional State and other stakeholders”.



Editorial information:



• Please find below a list of all signatories to the PPP:
* Vitens Evides International B.V.
* HEINEKEN Breweries S.C.
* Harari People Regional State (HPRS)
* Harar Town Water Supply and Sewerage Service Authority (HWSA)
* Ethiopian Catholic Church-Social and Development Coordinating Office of Harar
* MS Consultants
* Acacia Water
* RoyalHaskoningDHV B.V.

• The full scope of the project covers:
• Access to water for 50.000 people
* Public water points & house connections for 25.000 people in Harar town
* Water buffering schemes for 25.000 people in rural Harar
• Water resources allocation and protection strategy developed with all stakeholders:
* Integrated regional water resources assessment and climate resilience scenarios
• Regional stakeholders determine equitable water allocation through platform meetings
* Construction of a decalcification treatment plant in Dire Dawa for water supply to Harar and neighbouring towns
• Less calcium carbonate in water is better for pumps and consumers
* Improved water services with Harar Water Supply and Sewerage Authority
• Sustainable management of boreholes
• Reduction and Management of Non-Revenue Water, resulting in more water available for
• Improved management of HWSA in operations and maintenance developed for consumers

• Non-Revenue Water (NRW) is the water that is produced by the water company (generating operational costs) but is somehow lost and thus does not generate any income
• NRW can be sub-divided into:
* Real Losses: water leaking and overflowing from the distribution system and
* Commercial losses: unauthorized consumption, metering inaccuracies, errors in billing & collection and data handling

• With the signing of this PPP HEINEKEN entered into the second Public Private Partnership in Ethiopia. HEINEKEN committed to its first Public Private Partnership in Ethiopia at the end of April 2013 to launch the Community Revenue Enhancement Through Agricultural Technology Extension (CREATE) programme that is expected to improve the quality and supply quantities and the end-to-end process of growing malt barley in Ethiopia.



ABOUT HEINEKEN in ETHIOPIA
HEINEKEN has a long history with Africa. Already in 1900 HEINEKEN was exporting beer to various African countries (Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone). The first brewery in DRC was established in 1923. For many years the business expanded across the continent and in 2011 the acquisition of Harar and Bedele Breweries Ethiopia was made. In 2012 the construction of a new greenfield brewery was announced, which will be operational in 2014.The Ethiopian beer market is growing. The market practically doubled over the last 5 years and the per capita consumption is still relatively low compared to other East African markets. The main drivers for growth are a growing population, urbanization and rising incomes. HEINEKEN Ethiopia’s key brands are Bedele Special, Bedele Regular, Harar, Hakim Stout and Sofi Malt.

ABOUT HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL
HEINEKEN is a proud, independent global brewer committed to surprise and excite consumers with its brands and products everywhere. The brand that bears the founder’s family name - Heineken® - is available in almost every country on the globe and is the world’s most valuable international premium beer brand. The Company’s aim is to be a leading brewer in each of the markets in which it operates and to have the world’s most valuable brand portfolio. HEINEKEN wants to win in all markets with Heineken® and with a full brand portfolio in markets of choice. The Company is present in over 70 countries and operates more than 165 breweries. HEINEKEN is Europe’s largest brewer and the world’s third largest by volume. HEINEKEN is committed to the responsible marketing and consumption of its more than 250 international premium, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders. These include Heineken®, Amstel, Anchor, Biere Larue, Bintang, Birra Moretti, Cruzcampo, Desperados, Dos Equis, Foster’s, Newcastle Brown Ale, Ochota, Primus, Sagres, Sol, Star, Strongbow, Tecate, Tiger and Zywiec. Our leading joint venture brands include Cristal and Kingfisher. The number of people employed is over 85,000. Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. shares are listed on the NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols HEIA NA and HEIO NA and on the Reuter Equities 2000 Service under HEIN.AS and HEIO.AS. HEINEKEN has two sponsored level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programmes: Heineken N.V. (OTC: HEINY) and Heineken Holding N.V. (OTC: HKHHY). Most recent information is available on HEINEKEN’s website: www.theHEINEKENcompany.com.