India’s Earth Water Group (EWG) announced on 25 November 2012 that it was in the advanced stages of forming a joint venture (JV) with Norway’s Aqualyng to set up desalination plants of 10,000-100,000 m3/d in Indian coastal areas over the next three years.
The JV, named Aqualyng India Ltd Pvt, will be involve EWG firm Fontus with Aqualyng having the majority stakeholding. The partners are in the final stages of negotiation and the two companies are likely to sign an agreement next week.
The JV will invest Rs 750 crore (US$ 102 million) in desalination plants of various sizes at different locations, starting with South India, on a build-own-and-operate basis.