In February 2017, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported, citing The Hindu, that Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals planned a 50,000 m³/day desalination plant at Tannirbhavi Beach. Its proposal to the Karnataka government put the cost at INR 200 crore (about USD 30 million). The aim was to lift refining output from 15 to 18 million tonnes a year by 2020. The refinery already drew on treated sewage from Kavoor. In 2016, water shortages had forced some local industry to pause operations.
The report showed how industrial users on India's west coast, after a year of severe water shortage, began to secure their supply through their own desalination.