Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Sunday, Sep 18, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 |
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Corporate
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Outlook French major Degremont eyes desalination projects in India Madhumathi D.S.
Bangalore , Sept. 17 WATER treatment majors are closely watching the steel, refinery and other large industrial projects coming up in the eastern coast States to drive up their own desalination business. There will be a large demand for seawater desalination from civic bodies and water-intensive projects; this will be where a big market opportunity of the order of Rs 5,000 crore lies for companies like Degremont Ltd in the next couple of years, according to its Chief Operating Officer for India, Mr A. Vidyavathsal. The French water processing behemoth itself is looking at Vizag and Orissa where huge steel projects are on the anvil; and at Chennai, where the civic body, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd and TIDCO Park are candidates mulling desalinated water options. Worldwide, too, Degremont was focussing on desalination on a bigger scale, he said. In India, the State governments and industries are getting more aware of and open to such an option. There are also funding bodies that are willing to invest in such projects — among them external aid agencies such as ADB and JBIC, domestic FIs like HUDCO and ICICI Venture Funds. This makes it smoother for desalination projects to take off in the country, Mr Vidyavathsal told Business Line. Rise in demand: In recent years, there has been a spurt in the demand for drinking water supply augmentation, sewage treatment and water body revival projects in major cities. Degremont, part of the euro 42-billion French MNC Suez, expects to double its turnover to Rs 300 crore in the next 18 months. Main projects: Degremont is awaiting the commissioning of its prized 635-mld (million litres a day) water treatment plant at Delhi. Other major projects it is pitching for are the 530-mld Chennai drinking water project, Hyderabad's 410-mld drinking water and lakes renovation projects, and five smaller opportunities in Kerala. In Bangalore, it is hoping to be in the Rs 3,200-crore, 500 mld phase II of the Cauvery Water Supply Scheme Stage 4, which will be done on Japanese aid. Post-flood destruction, Mumbai was now finally waking up to having a sewage treatment system. "We are looking at recycling, which is an inevitable situation for industrial uses. Bangalore is the recycling hub for us, and we have done eight plants and are looking at it more positively," said Mr S. Kishore, VP-Marketing. Recycling: The recycling story in the country began with Bangalore's golf clubs and has spread to the seat of power, the Vidhana Soudha. The latest addition is the Rs 3.5-crore, 1.5 mld waste water recycling plant set up in Cubbon Park by Degremont and launched by the civic authorities on Thursday. Though recycling is a small niche business, this is a challenging and interesting area with very few players, Mr Vidyavathsal said. Degremont is awaiting a decision on the bidders for the K&C Valley tertiary sewage treatment plant. He said the Cubbon Park plant would be Degremont's showpiece and training place for wastewater recycling.
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