THE North-East's very own water company has been chosen by South Africa's largest city to improve and manage its water and waste water networks.

Greater Johannesburg local authority has selected Northumbrian Water as the preferred bidder to provide water and waste water services to its 3.8 million inhabitants.

Experts from Northumbrian have spent much of the past six months in South Africa bringing their expertise in operations, capital investment, customer services, billing and legal services in the preparation of the bid

The selection confirms the group as a major international player with the company already operating in Norway, Gibraltar, Australia, New Zealand and Scotland.

Group MD Martin Negre said: "In being selected as preferred bidder, Northumbrian Water beat off stiff international competition.

"The Johannesburg Council has set itself an ambitious transformation programme to provide its residents with quality services, calling on the best international expertise. We are delighted that Northumbrian Water has been selected against such rigorous standards.

"We look forward to partnering with the city of Johannesburg and to contribute in building this world-class African metropolis"

Chairman Sir Fred Holliday said: "Our local expertise and the dedication of our employees were crucial to the success of the bid. Our abilities and record were under intense scrutiny and having beaten world class opposition we can truly claim to offer a world class service."

Northumbrian Water Group operates in South Africa through its local subsidiary Water and Sanitation Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd. (WSSA).

It runs a 25-year concession in Queenstown and provides water and waste water services to over two million people in the provinces across the whole of the country.

WSSA also leads in the implementation of the innovative BoTT (build, operate, train and transfer) projects to supply water services to low-income communities in Eastern Cape and Northern Province, in partnership with South Africa's Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.

Johannesburg's existing utility organisation has over 2,500 employees, annual sales of Rand 1.3 bn (£130m), and over 8,000 km each of water mains and sewers.