BMC plans to build manori desalination plant with new tendering model

Time of India

4 days ago

MUMBAI: BMC, which has floated tenders for the design, construction, and commissioning of a 200 million litres per day (MLD) desalination plant for the fourth time, plans to draw water from 2.5 km into the sea due to the rocky terrain closer to the shoreline.
BMC officials said that the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) already granted approval for this. "This plant is proposed on a 12-hectare plot at Manori, also known as the Manori sunset point. This is an area belonging to the Maharashtra govt. We are currently in the final stages of it being handed over to the BMC.
There are no trees on it. Water for the project is proposed to be taken at least 2.5 km from within the shoreline.
A visit to the site for the prospective bidders has been planned in the first week of June, wherein they will also get an idea of the climatic and geotechnical conditions of the plot and area around," said a civic official.
This latest tender follows a study by Tata Consultancy Services (
TCS
), appointed to examine the lack of interest in previous bids. One major change is the shift in the bidding process: unlike earlier rounds that used the Swiss Challenge mode, the civic body has now opted for a Design, Build, and Operate (DBO) model.
Under the Swiss Challenge, an unsolicited proposal—such as the one submitted by an Israeli desalination firm under a 2022 MoU—was put to competitive bidding, with the original proposer having the right to match the best bid. This model has now been dropped entirely in favour of the Design Build Operate (DBO) format to attract more bidders. The DBO format for tendering has so far been followed in other BMC projects that are ongoing, like the Municipal Sewerage Disposal Project (MSDP) too.
In June 2021, BMC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Israel-based IDE Water Technologies Ltd to develop Maharashtra's first desalination plant in Mumbai. The MoU focused on preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for a 200 million litres per day (MLD) plant at Manori in Malad (West), with an estimated cost of Rs 1,600 crore.
Under the Swiss Challenge mode, IDE Water Technologies—having prepared the DPR at no cost to the BMC—was granted the first right of refusal. However, a study by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) later flagged this as a key reason for the lack of bidder interest. Since the BMC cannot award projects without sufficient competitive bids, it decided to revise the tendering model.
While Chennai hosts the country's first desalination plant, officials pointed out that given Maharashtra's 720-km-long coastline, exploring alternatives to reduce dependence on rainfall is both necessary and timely.