BUILDING WATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Hiroaki Kobayashi

Chairperson and Managing Director, Toshiba Water Solutions Pvt Ltd

By bringing water to millions of people who rely on them for drinking water, household chores and to irrigate land, rivers have always been the source of civilizations. In India, rivers also have a cultural and spiritual significance that transcends socio-economic boundaries. However, an ever-growing population, inadequately planned urbanization and industrialization, together with the lack of a robust municipal and industrial wastewater treatment network, has left many Indian rivers choked with effluents and toxic wastewater. Water availability is already falling rapidly, and it is estimated that by 2050, the average annual water availability per capita may decline to 1,140 cubic meters from 1,545 cubic meters in 2011.

The Government of India is promoting several initiatives for river development and rejuvenation. Under the aegis of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has established sewage treatment infrastructure as one of the most important pillars for cleaning up the river Ganges. Toward building robust and future-ready wastewater treatment infrastructure, the government has sanctioned 402 projects so far, of which 224 are already completed and the rest are in various stages of progress.

Toshiba Water Solutions Private Limited (Toshiba Water) is an active partner in India's quest to build sustainable water and wastewater infrastructure. Headquartered in Gurugram, India, Toshiba Water has executed over 450 engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) and operation & maintenance (O&M) projects in 35 countries, and is now contributing to the government's “Make-in-India” and “Export from India” flagship programs.

Toshiba Water is a one-stop provider of comprehensive services ranging from system engineering and design to the construction, installation and O&M of water, wastewater, and domestic waste treatment facilities. Toshiba Water also offers loT system as a service for both new and operating plants, to support remote monitoring and management.

Toshiba Water has a robust technology bank comprising of various owned and licensed technologies, including the ozone generator; zero liquid discharge (ZLD) using high efficiency reverse osmosis; anaerobic biological treatment; activated sludge processing; and sequential batch reactors, etc. Its global design centre and in-house engineering capabilities allow the company to offer optimum institutional knowledge, along with the best capital expenses and operating cost ratio solutions to achieve low cycle costs.

In April last year, Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (BUIDCO) awarded Toshiba Water two independent contracts for storm water drainage pumping stations in Patna, Bihar, one with six pumping stations and another with eight pumping stations. The projects entail construction, erection, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of the 14 pumping stations with an outfall pipeline to the designated disposal points. All 14 will be constructed within a twelve-month period.

Toshiba Water is developing water and wastewater infrastructure in the state to rid the city and the neighbouring towns of flooding and backflow during the heavy monsoon season. It will deploy specialized single stage high-discharge storm water pumps with vertical shafts. With these pumps, the stations can pump 2,870 lakh litres of water per hour.

Toshiba Water is determined to live up to Toshiba Group's basic commitment, 'Committed to People, Committed to the Future', and has an unwavering drive to make and do things that lead to a better world. Through its knowledge and experience in constructing and operating water and wastewater treatment solutions, Toshiba Water remains steadfast in developing sustainable water infrastructure in India.

Hits: 1