Policies to promote participation of private companies in municipal water projects need to be strengthened with improvement of existing facilities. This will ensure that the country’s vast seashore can be optimally utilised, industry players say. The water and wastewater treatment equipment market earned revenue of over Rs 6,307 crore in 2011. A Frost and Sullivan report estimates this to reach Rs 10,234 crore in 2016.

French water company Suez Environnement, which had teamed up with Degremont in 2008 to build a 990-million-litre a day water diagnosis plant valued at $74 million in Bhandup in central Mumbai, is finalising construction of the plant, the largest in India. The plant will produce 1 billion litres of water daily.

“Though Mumbai has a high per capita water consumption, as does Chennai, desalination appears to be a favoured option given the fact that both the cities are located near the coast,” said Jean-Louis Chaussade, Chief Executive Officer, Suez Environnement.

The country will soon have to make a choice, given its dwindling clean water capacity, he added. Both Suez and Degremont are already present in Hyderabad, Kozhikode (in Kerala), Kolkata, as well as in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

Green Concerns

Environmental concerns in the real estate sector too have become a major concern, with the management of water in buildings coming under the scanner. Given the new developments in the sector, several small and medium scale participants have been offering solutions at attractive prices targeted at price sensitive industrial users.

However, this constricts revenue inflow, an analyst with Frost & Sullivan said.

“While new players enhance the prospects of the water and wastewater treatment equipment market, the purchase cycle of treatment systems is low, since the end users perceive water treatment equipment as a one time investment and expect a long product life,” said the analyst.

A Frost & Sullivan report has noted that the proposed tax breaks for industries that save water would definitely boost water recycling, which, in turn, would reduce dependence on the dwindling groundwater and surface water resources.

amritanair.ghaswalla@thehindu.co.in

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