ETDE, Bouygues Construction’s electrical contracting and maintenance subsidiary, and the City of Lille are to donate 400 street lighting columns to Saint-Louis in Senegal in a major international cooperation project designed to enable the African city to upgrade its street lighting system. ETDE, the holder of the street lighting management contract for the City of Lille, will send the first batch of 80 lighting columns out to Saint-Louis in early December.

400 lights offering guaranteed performance
The equipment to be supplied to Saint-Louis has become available as a result of the French city’s street lighting upgrade programme, managed by ETDE, which also encompasses the neighbouring communities of Hellemmes and Lomme. The high-performance lighting columns, guaranteed for a minimum of 10 years, are being removed as part of plans to harmonise Lille’s street lighting installations. They will be subjected to a comprehensive overhaul and fitted with low-energy lamps before being dispatched to Senegal.
The project is part-funded by the French National Environment and Energy Management Agency ADEME.

Street lighting: a key factor in promoting urban development
The lighting columns supplied by ETDE and the City of Lille will allow Saint-Louis to improve its own street lighting system. Like many cities in sub-Saharan Africa, Saint-Louis is faced with the problem of patchy coverage and failing equipment, with some districts in particular suffering from ageing and inadequate street lighting. Street lighting is a key factor in ensuring public security, improving quality of life, and facilitating economic activity and the growth of tourism. The Saint-Louis upgrade project evidences the city’s commitment to optimizing the development of its urban fabric. Saint-Louis, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is twinned with the City of Lille.

Exchanges of skills and experience
The first batch of 80 lighting columns was dispatched from Lille in mid-October. A second consignment of 100 units will be sent out in late January 2007, with the final batch of 220 units scheduled to set out for Senegal in late December 2007. This major international cooperation project also involves an exchange of skills, with French street lighting experts heading out for Saint-Louis, and Senegalese specialists coming to Lille.

As part of the exchange programme, two street lighting experts – Eric Decaillon, the head of Lille’s street lighting department, and ETDE’s Christophe Montélimard – will arrive in Senegal along with the first batch of equipment. Their tasks will be as follows: to support efforts to identify the parts of the Saint Louis street lighting network that require strengthening or extending using the equipment supplied by Lille; to share their experience on street lighting and low-voltage distribution issues; to provide technical background on the equipment, and train technicians from Saint-Louis in the overhaul and repair of old lights; to identify the training and exchange requirements of the City of Saint Louis; and to prepare for the trip to Lille by a delegation of technicians from Saint-Louis.

The group from Saint-Louis will arrive in Lille in January 2007 to receive training in equipment maintenance and servicing, and to study local street lighting systems installed by ETDE.

ETDE and Lille: partners in sustainable development
The international cooperation project organised by ETDE and the City of Lille on behalf of the latter’s twin town falls within the scope of a joint sustainable development initiative. As part of this initiative, both partners have drawn up an agenda 21* action plan that encompasses improvement of street lighting and control of energy costs.

ETDE’s teams are committed to deploying innovative solutions to meet the sustainable development requirements of the capital of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. Areas of focus include reduction of electricity consumption, use of renewable energies, elimination of light pollution, and replacement of obsolete equipment with energy-saving, recyclable installations.

ETDE has been reponsible for the management of street lighting for the City of Lille and the neighbouring communities of Hellemmes and Lomme since 2004. The contract covers energy management, operation and maintenance of 22,500 lights, and renewal of obsolete installations.

Delegated management of street lighting: a speciality of ETDE Utility Networks
ETDE is one of France’s leading specialists in the street-lighting management services market. It operates in over 50 cities in France and internationally, including Nîmes, Dijon, Fougères, London, Libreville and Port-Gentil (Gabon), under contracts ranging from 8 to 25 years in length. ETDE delivers a broad range of services encompassing energy supply/management and equipment maintenance, as well as related services such as 24 hour call-out, remote network maintenance, emergency response, troubleshooting, etc. In addition to street lighting management, ETDE also provides engineering services for local authorities, including installation and maintenance of water, gas and power networks.

* Agenda 21 is a programme of actions for the 21st century, with a focus on sustainable development. It was adopted by signatory countries of the Rio de Janeiro Declaration in June 1992. Its main objectives are the fight against poverty and social exclusion, the production of sustainable goods and services, and the protection of the environment.

About ETDE :
A subsidiary of Bouygues Construction, ETDE is a turnkey provider and integrator of technical and services solutions for public- and private-sector customers in the energy, industry, service, transport, environment and telecommunications sectors. The company’s operations are based around three clearly structured, customer-oriented business areas: utility networks; electrical, mechanical & HVAC engineering; and facilities management & telecoms. ETDE offers comprehensive capabilities that encompass engineering, installation, maintenance and operation for both French and international customers. It leverages the expertise, commitment and responsiveness of its 12,000 employees to deliver innovative solutions with high technological added value. Backed by a network of 180 locations across France, and with a presence in 20 countries worldwide, ETDE posted revenues of €1.4 billion in 2006, a 42% increase compared with 2005. Revenues are predicted to rise further to €1.7 billion in 2007.