The state government has decided to come out with a water desalination project-cum-incentive policy in view of the huge interest of private industries in the desalination sector in Gujarat.
A decision in this connection was taken at the recently held meeting of Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) headed by Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
An official said: “The state government has decided to come out with a sectoral policy considering the huge interest shown by local, national and international companies in water desalination and other water management project opportunities. Gujarat has tremendous possibilities in this sector as it has the country’s largest coastline which provides unlimited source of seawater. GIDB will prepare the policy.”
Earlier, a 150 million litres per day (MLD) seawater-based desalination plant for industrial water supply in Gujarat Water Infrastructure Limited (GWIL) in Kutch and Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board (GWSSB) in 100-150 acres at a cost of Rs 700 crore was planned, but canceled for unknown reasons.
An official said: “Leading companies like Adani Group has shown interest in setting up water desalination plant in Kutch. Other companies like Nano city of Sabeer Bhatia of hotmail fame and many Japanese companies have shown interest in the water-desalination projects in various proposed Special Investment Regions (SIRs) like the Dholera near Ahmedabad.”
“The Japanese have shown keen interest in investing in the water business in Gujarat. A high-level Japanese delegation met senior officials at the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) a few days back to explore the possibility of involving Japanese entrepreneurs in water-related projects in the state,’’ added the official.
The state government is also promoting solar powered desalination plant because of environmental concerns.
