Chennai, Jul 20 (IANS): One of the largest and oldest industrial estates in the country with over 2,000 units, the Ambattur Industrial Estate and other industrial clusters will soon have a 200,000 litres per day effluent treatment plant for its industrial liquid waste.

"We wanted to future-proof our water needs and meet the stringent norms of TNPCB (Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board)," M. Balachandran, President, Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturer's Association (AIEMA) said.

The AIEMA has promoted a special purpose vehicle Chennai Auto Ancillary Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Company (CAAIIUC) for the industry clusters of Ambattur, Thirumudivakkam and Thirumazhisai.

The two have selected Gradiant India (P) Limited, a subsidiary of Boston based Gradiant Corporation, to develop and install a common effluent treatment plant (CETP) for the industrial cluster.

The proposed CETP is set to treat 200,000 litres of effluent per day will be on a Design, Build, Own and Operate (DBOO) basis.

The facility will be owned, operated and maintained by Gradiant India for a minimum period of 15 years, ensuring a complete asset management philosophy.

Furthermore, the plant will recover high quality treated water for re-use by the industries, thereby reducing their freshwater intake and overall cost of treatment.

The trade effluents from metal processing industries contain a high amount of total dissolved solids.

The unique pay per feed business model of Gradient India also reduces capital exposure of the industries in midst of a strong recovery post the covid pandemic.