Singapore Conference to focus on Indian water sector

Singapore, Jun 18 (UNI) The multi-billion dollar Indian water industry will be the focus of one of the seven regional business forums to be held here next week, organisers and Singapore water agency Public Utilities Board (PUB) said today.

The Indian Business Forum, to be held on June 26, is a collaborative effort by the PUB and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with support from Indian Water Works Association.

The PUB would also sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikara/Maharashtra Water Supply and Sanitation Board of Mumbai to collaborate on the unaccounted for Water reduction, wastewater reuse and training programmes with participation from the Singapore water industry, the PUB sources informed.

Maharashtra Minister of State for Water Supply&Sanitation Department, Ranjit Kamble, will be attending the meeting.

Hyderabad Urban Development Authority vice chairman Dr KS Jawahar Reddy would speak at the forum on new initiatives for water management and related development projects.

India's water market is one of the largest in the world, with the industry source valuing it at more than four billion dollar, with approximately one-third for water provisioning, one-third for municipal water treatment and one-third for industrial water treatment.

The overall annual growth rate for the Indian water sector is 15 to 20 per cent. Indian water demand is projected at 1,050 cubic kilometres a year by 2025 but supply would only be about 700 cubic kilometres, according to industry reports.

More than 5,000 representatives from governments, utilities, businesses and academia would attend the seven forums to be held under the Singapore International Water Week umbrella from June 23 to 27.

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