In the wake of Pune-based Deccan Water Treatment (P) Ltd bagging an order worth USD 62 million for a power system based on solar energy from a Nairobi-based company, Huned Contractor interviews its CEO Anirban Sarkar. Excerpts:

What are the areas the company is engaged in?

Deccan Water Treatment (P) Ltd (DWTPL) was incorporated in the year 1998 and is a pioneer in the manufacture of reverse osmosis (RO) systems for drinking water, with specialisation in desalination, defluoridation, and arsenic removal. Starting with package sewage treatment plants (STPs), the company graduated to technologically savvy sewage treatment options like suspended media bio-reactors (SMBRs) and sludge return bio-reactors (SRBRs), which have been immensely successful. Without resting on its laurels, the company diversified into treatment of sewage through ultra-violet rays by the indigenously developed floating bed catalytic reactor wherein the treated sewage is fit for recycling and reuse in flushing and gardening, without any tertiary treatment.

Our journey in renewable source of energy commenced in 2010, and since then we have got orders for 75 MW solar power projects not only in India but also overseas. During this span of time our company grew from strength to strength and we are now working on different capacities of solar projects - from turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) to operating as developers. DWTPL believes in providing EPC solutions for building solar power plants based on photovoltaic (PV) technology, grid as well as off-grid. These EPC solutions for solar power generation are provided on a turnkey basis which includes site evaluation, design for solar farms, HV/LV panels, inverters, instrumentation, power excavation, power distribution as well as operation and maintenance.

Could you elaborate about the new order?

We have bagged an order for a 31 MW power system on PV technology for solar electricity generation from Nairobi-based Piedmont Investments Ltd. The order is worth USD 62 million and was floated as a global tender.

What has been your company's experience with solar power projects?

Out of the 75 MW solar power projects that we have been assigned so far, we have completed two orders in Jodhpur of 5 MW with tracking arrangement and a 10 MW solar PV plant without tracking arrangement, which have been completed within 8 and 6.5 months respectively. Two more projects are in hand for 50 MW in Middle East at Umm-Al-Quwain and 10 MW at Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. We are also in the process of completion of a 30.8 MV PV project in Kenya.

What is your arrangement with Aquasolis GmbH?

We have entered into a collaborative venture with Aquasolis GmbH for producing potable water out of saline water through solar energy. The project has received a soft loan of Rs 40 crore from International Finance Corporation and World Bank for putting up a plant to manufacture 3,000 units initially, based on this technology. The manufactured units would not only be utilised in India but export orders for Europe, western Asia and Africa also would be catered to. Furthermore, this technology, being based on non-conventional or renewable resources, entitles to carbon credits as a part of CDM.

Is reverse osmosis the most efficient process?

Reverse osmosis is a high-pressure energy-efficient water separation process. It is a method of extracting essentially pure and fresh water from polluted or salt water by forcing the water under pressure against a semi-permeable membrane, which passes the pure water molecules but filters out salts and other dissolved impurities. In the DWTPL RO system, the water is treated at the molecular level by the reverse osmosis process, thus ensuring the removal of all impurities such as excessive salts, micro-organisms, and other products left behind by disinfection products and chemical toxins. This principle is also used in our desalination plants for extracting pure and fresh water from seawater.

The DWTPL RO system is a viable economic alternative as compared to other conventional distillation processes due to the multiple benefits it offers, including utilising less than 50 per cent of energy as compared to thermal plants; operational ability at ambient temperature; use of non-corrosive polymer materials; quick start-up and shutdown; and ease of operation.

What about your project in Somalia?

Our company has been awarded a contract for the redevelopment of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. Many companies from Europe and America rejected this contract due to security issues but we took this as an opportunity rather than risk and accepted the project, which will involve redevelopment of basic facilities such as sanitation, roads, water, and electricity. The redevelopment of the entire country needs USD 10,000 million while for Mogadishu this will work out to about USD 500 million. As such, DWTPL is also working as a consultant for fund-raising for the Somali government. Over the period of the next one year I will be visiting various countries worldwide with the president of Somalia to act as a mediator between the potential investors and the Somali government.

Why should investors take an interest in Somalia?

Out of the total uranium deposits found in the world, 90 per cent of uranium deposits are found in Somalia. Apart from uranium the country has rich deposits of other natural resources like gold and diamond while it is believed that its petroleum reserves could be the highest across the whole of Africa. This is the only reason many countries have already shown interest in investing for the redevelopment process. Moreover, many of its former citizens who left the country during the war period are willing to return after the establishment of a federal government.

(Deccan Water Treatment (P) Ltd., S. No. 32, Behind Relax Hotel, Near Hari Om Steel, Old Kharadi-Mundhwa Road, Pune - 411 014. Tel.: 020-65311482. Email: deccan_waters@yahoo.com)