OPIC Loan to Expand Access to Clean Water in India
March 20, 2018
(OPIC)
Project offers safe drinking water at one-fourth the cost of bottled water
Advances OPIC's 2X Women's Initiative to invest in the world's women
Helps women find employment under the company's Women Operated Water systems
(WOW) program
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S.
Government’s development finance institution, has committed a $12.5 million
loan to a project that will expand access to affordable clean drinking water to
millions of low and middle-income people in India.
OPIC’s loan to WaterHealth India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of WaterHealth
International, Inc. of Irvine, California, will help finance the installation of
as many as 900 decentralized plants that purify the water on site and sell it at
a price that is three to four times lower than bottled water alternatives
currently available in the marketplace.
These WaterHealth Vending Machines (WVM) are installed at locations like railway
stations, bus stations, shopping malls, public and private institutions or any
high footfall location where consumers are able to purchase purified water
ranging in amounts from 300ml to 5 liters. Most consumers carry their own
bottles and WaterHealth refills them, but consumers may also purchase reusable
bottles.
“This project offers an innovative approach to making safe water more
available and affordable and illustrates how businesses can develop new
solutions to longstanding global challenges,” said Ray W. Washburne, OPIC
President and CEO. “By increasing access to clean water, the project will
improve the health and quality of life for millions of Indians, particularly
women who typically have the primary responsibility for obtaining and managing
the household water supply.”
Limited access to safe drinking water is a major health and economic challenge
throughout much of the world. In India alone, an estimated 163 million people
lack access to safe water, a major cause of diarrheal illnesses that results in
500 deaths of children under the age of five each day. In addition to this
massive health cost, insufficient affordable water supplies pose a significant
economic and overall quality of life cost, particularly for women, whose time
spent gathering water often takes away from time spent on other household tasks
or with family or earning income outside the home.
“WaterHealth International has been committed to improving access to safe and
affordable drinking water for underserved consumers for over a decade. During
that time, we have built the world’s lowest cost, global operating platform
for decentralized water purification plants,” said Sanjay Bhatnagar, CEO of
WaterHealth International. “Built around the latest quality and operational
monitoring technologies, this platform allows anyone the ability to sustainably
and affordably provide safe drinking water to consumers in urban and rural areas
and in weeks instead of years. We are grateful for OPIC’s leadership and their
recognition of our potential to significantly and positively impact the
livelihood of all consumers especially women in the regions we operate.”
OPIC’s loan to WaterHealth was committed under OPIC’s new 2X Global
Women’s Initiative to mobilize $1 billion to invest in women and unlock the
economic opportunity they represent. In addition to expanding the availability
of safe water, the project is projected to create more than 1,300 jobs in India
and introduce advanced technologies and business models for providing potable
water.
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