CICA, Sophia: perhaps 'les jeux sont faits'

The management of the CICA, the Regional council breeding-ground, a leading building in Sophia Antipolis would become Carillion's propriety (ex-Tarmac)

The invitation to tender commission of the regional council for the management of the CICA would have made a choice after several agitated meetings. It is an outsider (which was not in the first invitation to tender, cancelled in May 2000) which would have been elected: the company Carillion, whose general manager is Bernard Nicoletti. The group, ex-Tarmac, is the French subsidiary of one of the biggest public buildings and works sector entrepreneurs in Great-Britain.Three others applicants were in competition. C.I.COM Organisation, the real manager of the CICA, and Elyo (a subsidiary of the former Lyonnaise des Eaux) would have been eliminated from the beginning. Others were remaining: Dalkia (a subsidiary of Vivendi, and in association with Canal+, Cegetel, Monaco Telecom), and Carillion. The last group was elected, but it is still not official.The CICA, the start-up breeding-ground is a building built by the regional council in 1989. Its first years of existence were difficult, because the CICA was losing about 50 million francs a year. Thus, the regional council decided to change the way of managing the entity. In 1995 C.I.COM was elected to manage the CICA for 4 years (the contract was extended one year and 5 months more), before Générale des Eaux, now Vivendi and la Lyonnaise des Eaux through its subsidiary COFRETH, now Elyo. Thanks to C.I.COM, the CICA has become a pole of excellence, famous throughout Europe and more (60 companies, 900 jobs).In May 2000, a first invitation to tender for a repetition over 7 years had been cancelled. The reason? Because of the publishing on the local daily newspaper Nice-Matin of the names of the applicant companies. And the second invitation to tender seems to be a source of problems too, and the new manager of the CICA should begin its functions on December 1st! The battle is not over at all!!