Ontario teachers exits key Australian water asset after decade-long ownership
Utilities Trust of Australia has taken full control of one of Sydney’s key pieces of water infrastructure, buying Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s majority stake in the city’s only major rainfall‑independent source of drinking water.
Utilities Trust of Australia (UTA), managed by global infrastructure manager Morrison, acquired Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan's (Ontario Teachers') 60 percent stake in the Sydney Desalination Plant (SDP), taking full ownership of the asset.
UTA previously owned 40 percent of SDP and acquired the additional 60 percent interest through its pre‑emptive rights over the Ontario Teachers' stake.
SDP is a critical asset for Greater Sydney as the City's only significant rainfall‑independent source of drinking water.
Powered entirely by renewable energy, the facility operates year‑round and can produce up to about 250 million litres of water per day, or around 15 percent of Sydney's daily drinking water needs.
It helps improve Sydney's water resilience as climate change drives more frequent extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts, and as population growth increases demand.
Under the shared ownership of Ontario Teachers' and UTA, the business has achieved several significant milestones.
It transitioned from government to private ownership, completed a substantial rebuild of the plant following a 2015 tornado, re‑commissioned and restarted the plant in 2019 after a prolonged period of no production, and shifted the plant to flexible full‑time operations.
Gordon Hay, partner at Morrison, framed the deal as a continuation of a long‑term investment approach to the asset. “SDP is an asset for Sydney, delivering water security in a changing climate,” he said.
Hay noted that UTA has been invested in the plant since 2012 and said the manager is positioned to continue supporting Sydney’s water security needs.
From Ontario Teachers’ perspective, the sale closes out more than a decade of ownership in the plant.
Jan Brand, managing director, Infrastructure & Natural Resources at Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, said Ontario Teachers’ has held Sydney Desalination Plant for more than a decade and worked with partners to support the asset’s operations.
He said the plant continues to provide water security for the community and added that Ontario Teachers’ wishes the SDP and UTA teams well in the next phase.
At the operating company level, SDP’s leadership expects the ownership change to maintain business stability.
Philip Narezzi, CEO at Sydney Desalination Plant, said UTA has been an investor in SDP for many years and that the acquisition will provide continuity for staff and customers.
“SDP will continue to operate as usual,” he said, adding that backing from a foundation owner will support the plant’s role in supplying drinking water to Greater Sydney.
This transaction follows successful partial divestments of UTA's stakes in Transgrid and Perth Airport to rebalance the portfolio.
