New economic benefits for French companies.
Airbus will supply 26 civilian helicopters to a Saudi company, while Veolia has won a contract to manage Riyadh's drinking water services, the two groups announced on Saturday on the sidelines of French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Saudi Arabia.
The day after the sale of 12 Caracal military helicopters to the Emirates, Airbus signed a contract in Jeddah on Saturday providing for the sale of 26 -20 H145 and 6 H160- helicopters to The Helicopter Company (THC), the European group said in a statement.
The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.
Veolia will manage Riyadh's water
This company was created in 2019 by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), as part of the country's economic diversification, to meet the "growing demand for luxury tourism and air transport services".
It already operated 10 H125 Ecureuil light helicopters.
The world leader in water and waste, Veolia, for its part announced that it had obtained the contract for the management of drinking water and sanitation services in Riyadh and 22 peripheral municipalities.
This seven-year contract represents a turnover of 82.6 million euros, according to the French group.
Veolia has also signed a “strategic partnership agreement” with the Saudi Ministry of Investment to “improve the operational, energy and commercial performance of the water sector throughout the country”, and extended its links with the oil giant Saudi Aramco.
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The French group becomes “the exclusive partner” of Saudi Aramco for the treatment of its industrial and non-hazardous waste, ie 200,000 tonnes per year in addition to the 120,000 tonnes of hazardous waste already handled by Veolia.
Emmanuel Macron made the last leg of an express tour of the Gulf on Saturday, in Jeddah, where he met Crown Prince Mohammed ben Salman, a strongman of the kingdom, whose international image was strongly tarnished by the assassination in 2018 by Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
On the first day of the French president's tour on Friday, the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement to acquire 80 Rafale fighter jets - a record order for the fighter jet that entered service in 2004 - for 14 billion euros.