The Essar Group said it intended to make bids for various water projects in India. Essar Concessions India Ltd Chief Executive Officer Neeraj Sanghi said they planned to bid for water distribution and sewage plants and desalination facilities. The Indian government had allocated INR 1.1 trillion or USD 18 billion for water projects, Sanghi added.

Winning the projects would allow Essar to quadruple its water revenues in four years as the demand for water-treatment and supply projects increases in the country. Essar is currently competing with Larsen & Toubro, Veolia Environnement and Va Tech Wabag for water-related projects in Asia's third largest economy.

Sanghi told Bloomberg in a phone interview that he expected the water sector in India to be better organized in the next three to five years. He added, "We want to be present when it reaches the tipping point, which is now coming closer."

Just this month, Essar was awarded a contract to build a water treatment plant in Jamnagar. The contract was worth INR 700 million.