Shri.Ravi B Budhiraja, Chairman, Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority, today inaugurated the 12th Everything About Water Expo at Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai.
A report on the Indian Water Industry was brought out in the presence of 300 exhibitors from 21 countries. EverythingAboutWater Expo is South Asia’s largest and one of the world’s leadingannual water event, showcasing latest technologies in the water and wastewatermanagement sector.
The study was conducted by Everything About Water,a leading consulting firm in water sector. The report analyses the water supplyand demand trends, and finds India to be a water scarce country with animbalance in demand & supply. It also indicated a huge opportunities acrossthe spectrum in infrastructure development for water supply and wastewatermanagement. The industry is creating a ~$13 Bn market opportunity and growingmore than the rate of 10%. The Industrial market is going to be the bigopportunity till 2020, with growth in wastewater recycling and industrial watertreatment
Countries like India, Mexico, China andBrazil use maximum water for agriculture, unlike the western countries whichuses 70% to 75% water for industrial needs. Industrial water use in India is about 40 billioncubic metres (bcm) which is nearly 6% of the total freshwater abstraction.Annual wastewater discharge from industry is 30.7 bcm. Water demand forindustrial and energy usage is projected to increase to 191 bcm by the year2025. Pollution control board norms for all manufacturing industries are planned to become more rigorous and enforcement would become stricter, due to higher public scrutiny.
On this occasion Mr. H. Subramaniam, Chief Operating Officer, EA Water Pvt.Ltd., expresses his views, “ The water sector is a sunrise opportunity inIndia, and is likely to see significant investment in the next 5 years. Over 1million jobs would be created in the next 3 years, as new infrastructure forwater supply, distribution and wastewater treatment needs to be created andmaintained. Mega projects like the Ganga River Cleaning, Smart Cities andSwachh Bharat are creating an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in the waterindustry”
India is witnessing growing scarcity,decreasing water quality and rising cost of fresh water. On the other side thedemand for water is growing, as the industrial & economic activity isrising. The higher level of Environment regulations and increasing awarenessabout water quality & health will force the water treatment industry to getmore organised & introduce advance technology. India is forecasted to be one of the Top 5 BOOTmarkets for desalination.
Currently, desalination plants provide approximately 1 percent of the world’s drinking water supply and thisnumber is increasing every year. Estimating the global market value fordesalination is extremely difficult as it is composed of a few large projects.However, the global market is roughly USD 12 billion per year –about USD 6billion per year in capital expenditures and about USD 6 billion per year inoperating expenditures.
The Indian market fordesalination is very small, but likely to grow. There are only a handful ofdesalination projects built and operational in India. Most of these existingplants are in the industrial sector. About 30 desalination plants are expected to beinstalled in the next 3 years in India, particularly in the power, oil andmining industry as capital andoperating costs come down. Thecost of desalinated water is projected to reduce by 20% in the next 5 years andby 50% by the year 2020.
