India readies large-scale desal plant

Local government officials said today that a new desalination plant is 80-percent complete and is on target to begin operations in early 2009.

Indian officials said the 100-million liter (26-million U.S. gallon) per day plant has nearly completed the installation of key components, including the intake tower, filters and reverse-osmosis structures. Water experts said there are extensive opportunities for desalination and water-filtration technologies across India (see H2O could be an issue for many firms).

The two principal companies building the plant are Hyderabad, India-based IVRCL Infrastructure and Spain-based Befesa Construcción Tecnología Ambiental.

The combined efforts of those two companies have been formed into a separate entity that oversees the project and is called Chennai Water Desalination Limited.

Indian officials said the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board has signed an agreement with the Chennai Water Desalination Limited to buy water for more than 25 years.

The desalination plant being built at Kaatupalli, near Minjur, on the southeastern coast of India. The principal technologies being used are distillation and membrane processes.

Recently, Indian researchers at the Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai have set their sights on developing nanomembranes to replace the polycarbonate membranes commonly used in desalination plants (see Indian water purification goes nano).