The Tamil Nadu government plans to rope in the private sector to put up tertiary treated osmosis plants at Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchi and Tirunelveli, said K Phanindra Reddy, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department.

“We are exploring possibilities of attracting investment from private sector in public-private-partnership mode to meet the needs of industry from both surface sources and treated water,” he said at a CII conference on Water Management.

Tamil Nadu is a pioneer in treated sewage for industrial use. Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board supplies 22 million litres per day (MLD) of treated sewage to industries in Chennai.

The government plans two tertiary treated osmosis units in its sewage treatment plants in the city at Koyambedu and Kodungaiyur of 45 MLD each. While the Koyambedu project has been awarded, bids have been received for the Kodungaiyur project, he said.

Reddy said Tamil Nadu government is in an advanced stage of planning and funding for two more desalination plants aggregating 550 MLD. The State has two desalination plants of 100 MLD each, he said.

Rajiv Mittal, Managing Director and Group CEO, VA Tech Wabag Ltd, said with two more desalination plants being planned, Chennai is set to become the desalination capital not only in India but globally. Other States should emulate this for both industry and domestic use, he said.