Water privatisation is a quarrelsome issue, but it really shouldn’t, as its benefits are multiple. Companies like Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited (VIL) who won two major awards in the sector at the recent World Water Leadership Congress & Awards may play a huge role in the privatisation of water.
The company won the presitigious Water Reuse Project of the Year and Mr Arun Lakhani, VIL’s chairman and managing director won the award for Outstanding Contribution to Water.
After taking a closer look at Nagpur’s water project conducted by Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited’s (VIL), The World Health Organisation (WHO), has been quite content. The project aims to bring continuous water supply and better quality of water in the city
Working with French company, Veolia Water, VIL has set up a 50:50 joint venture SPV company called ‘Orange City Water Ltd‘. Its objective is to provide 24 x 7 water supply to 100% population including hutment-dwellers in five years. The cost for this project is $ 95 million.
There has to be a necessity for pushing forward innovative solutions, especially when you take into account the ecological cost and direct investments required for any augmentation of surface water reservoirs. A thought clearly mirrored by Arun Lakhani, chairman and managing director, Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd.
Many states have to face water scarcity issues due to the uneven distribution of water resources. The urban and domestic consumption of water has the largest scale of inefficiencies. Plus when you consider Non Revenue Water (NRW) in urban towns is more than 50% and going as high as 70-75%, it is troubling.
The urban domestic water consumption also brings out sewage of 40,000 million liters per day (MLD), which is 80% of the total water consumed. The current wastewater treatment capacity can handle only 30 percent of the total generation, out of which only 55% is operational, translating to an investment gap of over USD 7 Billion for class I and class II cities by 2016-17.
It is the responsibility of the Urban Local body (ULB) – Municipality to treat it but with the budget constraints of ULB, it automatically goes down the priority list.
VIL India provides global solutions that contribute to sustainable development in the water sector through innovation in the design, construction and operation of drinking water treatment plants, distribution system reforms, etc. The Company has executed or in execution projects worth approximately Rs 27,500 million across the three sectors primarily through PPP contracting and few through EPC route.
It is not often said, but there are still companies in that first take a look at the environment, before commencing on any projects. One such company is VIL India who has been leading the way, especially in areas or water, waste water and infrastructure.
With solutions based and focused on larger environmental issues and by addressing them, the ecology of river self-rejuvenation helps a company to become more effective in proposing solutions. Arun Lakhani, VIL’s chairman and director is a believer in such a policy.
This can easily be seen through VIL’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme with its central focus on people in a Public—Private Partnership (PPP). In fact, every PPP project at Vishvaraj Infra is conceived to benefit the people and the environment.
Any CSR intiative done with the ecology and people in mind will be a success. In his own words, Arun Lakhani says “Without the active involvement of ‘People’ from conceptualisation to the final execution no PPP project can hope for long-term success.”
Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd provides global solutions that contribute to sustainable development in the water sector through innovation in the design, construction and operation of drinking water treatment plants, distribution system reforms, etc.
The need for innovation is the truest form through which a company can survive, especially in a competitive environment, the need is more relevant. Luckily or maybe a good business practice by Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited (VIL) is its need for consistent innovations.
These key innovations are seen in all its projects from the ones based in India to the ones conducted abroad. VIL’s core strength is its unique ability to design innovative structuring of Public Private Partnership projects themselves.
Arun Lakhani shares, VIL’s core strength is its unique ability to design innovative structuring of Public Private Partnership projects.
Working on a project which is massive in scope and vision can be a painstaking task. But when it is for a good cause, then it all works out for the better. And Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited’s (VIL) s Nagpur 24 X 7 project where its main objective is to pass continuous water has been given two thumps for its water quality by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Nagpur, the largest industry city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune, is a city of nearly 2.5 million citizens. The city gets 540 million litres of water per day distributed through 2,100 km of pipeline with about 80% coverage. Through Orange City Water Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture SPV company, between Vishvaraj Environment Pvt. Ltd and Veolia Water of France, the city’s water supply system is being upgraded to 24/7 supply and water security is being improved.
The Water Quality Partnership for Health programme – a partnership between the Australian government and WHO – has been promoting Water Safety Plans (WSPs) in India. A water quality specialist from Australia visited Nagpur on behalf of WHO. The specialist was extremely pleased with its progress and saw encouraging signs.
VIL India provides global solutions that contribute to sustainable development in the water sector through innovation in the design, construction and operation of drinking water treatment plants, distribution system reforms, etc.
When it comes to making a sustainable and often accurate and useful corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, many forget the P in a Public—Private Partnership (PPP). At Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited (VIL), the P is revered. After all, at VIL the fourth hidden P in PPP is people.
With such a philosophy, Arun Lakhani, VIL’s chairman and director, is able to transform PPP to a division which is more humane face and greater sensitivity towards its largest stakeholder- the people. “The factoring in of this fourth P as a central focus has a completely transformative impact on the long-term success of the project,” the chairman says.
In fact, every PPP project at Vishvaraj Infra is conceived to benefit the people. But the reality of the corporate world remains in numbers, and maybe that’s where people get lost. Studies done prove that the reasons behind the failure of certain CSR initiative’s is the erosion of not including people. “Without the active involvement of ‘People’ from conceptualisation to the final execution no PPP project can hope for long-term success,” Arun Lakhani says.
Thus, the only way to truly find a solution which can bring about a sustainable and often accurate and useful corporate social responsibility is through open communication and transparency by bringing people in the fold. This clearly is a business imperative for PPP rather than a CSR initiative.
Vishvaraj Infrastructure 