Mumbai’s drinking water supply is set for a significant transformation over the next few years, with French water and wastewater management major Veolia expected to meet nearly 60% of the city’s total potable water demand by the end of the decade.
According to Guillaume Dourdin, Chief Executive Officer and Country Director of Veolia India, two large-scale water treatment facilities currently under development at Bhandup and Panjrapur will together supply close to 3,000 million litres per day (MLD) of drinking water by 2030. The plants are scheduled to become operational in phases, with the Bhandup facility expected to go live by 2029 and the Panjrapur plant by 2030.
The projects are part of Mumbai’s long-term efforts to modernise its ageing water infrastructure and ensure reliable supply for a rapidly growing population. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) awarded a ₹4,124 crore contract for the Bhandup water treatment plant last year to Welspun Enterprises, which subsequently appointed Veolia as its technology partner. Once completed, the Bhandup facility will have a capacity of 2,000 MLD, making it one of the largest water treatment plants in the world.
In addition, Welspun has secured another contract from the BMC to design, build and operate a 910 MLD water treatment plant at Panjrapur, near Bhiwandi in neighbouring Thane district. Veolia will play a key role in deploying advanced treatment technologies at this site as well.
Dourdin said the new plants are being designed to suit the challenges of dense urban environments. “These facilities are more compact and energy-efficient, which helps reduce operating costs while addressing land constraints typical of large Indian cities,” he noted. The emphasis, he added, is on long-term operational reliability rather than just capacity expansion.
Veolia, which reported global revenues of €44.69 billion in 2024, operates in around 54 countries and employs approximately 215,000 people worldwide. The company’s core businesses span water management, waste management and energy services. It entered India in 2000, at a time when continuous, round-the-clock water supply was rare in most cities.
Its most prominent Indian success story remains Nagpur, where Veolia manages a citywide concession supplying 24×7 drinking water to nearly 3.8 million residents. When the company took over operations in 2012, non-revenue water losses caused by leaks, theft and inefficiencies stood at nearly 70%. Through systematic network upgrades, digital monitoring and operational discipline, this figure has been reduced to below 30%.
Central to this turnaround has been the use of digital tools. Sensors track water flows, pressure levels and reservoir storage in real time, while a digital twin of the network allows operators to simulate interventions before implementing them on the ground. This system is also linked to customer feedback mechanisms, enabling faster detection and resolution of localised issues.
Mumbai’s projects come at a time when India’s broader water ecosystem covering treatment, distribution and recycling is estimated to be worth about $14 billion. Veolia sees the country as a major growth market and aims to increase its India revenues by 50% by 2027 compared to 2025 levels, and to more than double its business by 2030.
Beyond drinking water, the company is expanding its footprint in waste and resource recovery. In 2017, Veolia acquired a majority stake in hazardous waste specialist Detox India, setting up facilities in Gujarat to handle industrial effluents, incineration and zero liquid discharge operations for sectors such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and agrochemicals. The company is also exploring sludge-to-energy projects, where wastewater by-products can be converted into biogas, compost or biochar.
Plastic recycling and waste-to-energy solutions are also on Veolia’s radar, though Dourdin cautioned that their success depends heavily on waste segregation and efficient municipal networks areas where many Indian cities are still evolving.
As urbanisation, industrial growth and climate variability intensify India’s water stress, interest in reuse and circular water models is growing. While potable reuse may take longer to gain acceptance, industrial reuse of treated wastewater is expected to scale up more quickly. “Reuse is inevitable,” Dourdin said, adding that industries will increasingly depend on recycled water to sustain operations.
With large projects like Bhandup and Panjrapur, Mumbai is emerging as a key test case for how global expertise, advanced technology and long-term operations can reshape urban water systems in India. By 2030, the city’s dependence on modern, professionally managed water infrastructure is expected to be deeper than ever before.