Therefore, "after the direct intervention of King Hassan" the government decided in the mid-1990s to bring in a private company to manage the city's water, sewerage and power networks. Lyonnaise des Eaux under its CEO Jérôme Monod, a close adviser of Jacques Chirac, negotiated the contract with the Interior Ministry under Driss Basri. The lengthy negotiations process for the contract was accompanied by intense criticism from the press, the Moroccan trade association Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Maroc, and city councilors.[2] Finally a consortium led by Lyonnaise des Eaux (now SUEZ), was awarded the 30-year concession without a competitive tender.