CH2M and partners to help build water capacity in India

New Delhi, India — The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) recently selected CH2M, in collaboration with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) and Temasek Foundation (TF), to share best practices in Urban Planning & Governance, Water and Wastewater Management and Solid Waste Management, as part of a three-year program to increase the capacity of India's infrastructure. The program includes a series of highly interactive workshops and advisory sessions focused on sharing best practices implemented in Singapore, as well as internationally.

"We are honored to bring our expertise to the development of India's water infrastructure," said CH2M Global Water Business Group President Peter Nicol. "Delivering integrated solutions for water and wastewater remains critical to advance urban management programs supporting India's growth as a major world economy."

Launched in April 2016, the goal of the NITI Aayog program is to share Singapore's water management technology and project implementation experience with senior officers from various government agencies dealing with the critical drought situations in many parts of India. CH2M is pleased to help deliver this program by providing full access to thought and knowledge leaders in integrated water resource management (IWRM), drinking water treatment quality, public/stakeholder engagement and advanced water recycling. The project team will leverage successes and learnings from similar projects in larger cities, such as Delhi, Bengaluru and Jaipur. This initiative by NITI will introduce a new paradigm for water infrastructure and help cities and agencies to diversify India's water resources portfolio with increased water resiliency.

The first workshop, held in June 2016, was attended by more than 70 high ranking officials from urban agencies within seven different states in India. The workshop team solicited participant input through pre-workshop questionnaires, discussed key challenges faced by these implementing agencies, shared success stories from Singapore and other international case studies, and discussed how those solutions can be adapted to India. Interactive discussions were also generated in the areas of project delivery, supply chain management in infrastructure projects, and financial sustainability of utilities in India. 

"This is really the age of cities due to huge migration; these cities contribute significantly to the global gross domestic product (GDP) contribution. This process of urbanization poses a challenge of how India can achieve urbanization in a sustainable manner for others to follow. The key challenge in India is not lack of water but the sheer lack of management of water. Therefore, it is important that we learn from the experience of a country like Singapore about the art of conservation of water, pricing water right, water recycling and the use of IWRM practices. Indian states can learn this art from CH2M, which is one of the world's most outstanding companies in water sector. The kind of experience they bring to the table is a rare expertise; so do utilize this opportunity today to learn and benefit from the best experts in the world," said Mr. Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog.

CH2M has worked closely with SCE delivering similar programs for major water infrastructure projects in Jaipur, Taloja (Maharasthra), Delhi and Bangalore, as the lead technical advisor and consultant.