HPCL, BPCL to set up desalination plant

State-run oil companies, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), are planning to jointly set up a desalination plant (sewage treatment plant) in Mumbai to meet the requirement of raw water at their refineries. The companies have commissioned Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) to conduct a feasibility study for the project which is estimated to cost Rs300 crore (US$75.6 million). The construction and operation of the plant is to be handed over to a third party. The desalination plant, however, will serve multiple users in the area where it is to be built. “We would set up the plant in an industrialized area where multiple users can benefit from the plant,” an IL&FS official said. “At present, we are looking for a source of brackish water.” Brackish water is more saline than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. (January 28, 2008)