In January 2019, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported that Wabag had been awarded a design-and-build contract for a seawater desalination plant at the Karnataka site of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited. The contract was valued at INR 4.8 billion (US$65.8 million), with a 22-month build period. The scheme combined ultrafiltration with reverse osmosis able to treat both seawater and brackish water, plus 11 km of pipeline to the refinery. A ten-year operating contract was to follow successful commissioning.
The item showed a major Indian industrial user seeking to decouple its water demand from freshwater sources through desalination, with construction and later operation entrusted to one supplier.