Companies are starting to view sustainability as a fundamental service instead of an expense as India's environmental infrastructure sector grows from a regulatory requirement into a significant business prospect. In a conversation with Economic Times Digital, Amit Badlani, MD of Vihaan Clean & Green Tech Pvt Ltd, and Go Green Mechanisms Pvt Ltd, explains how the company is becoming an all-in-one environmental utilities provider. He details their strategy of using recurring revenue models, shared infrastructure, and localised solutions to ensure lasting value. He also sheds light on the financial aspects of projects, funding approaches, and the increasing alignment of rules and effectiveness in influencing demand across water, waste, and energy sectors.
Economic Times (ET): India’s environmental infrastructure space is moving from compliance to a business opportunity. How is Vihaan Clean & Green Tech Pvt Ltd positioning itself to capture this shift, and what is your long-term business strategy?
Amit Badlani (AB): At Vihaan Clean & Green Tech Pvt. Ltd., we see environmental infrastructure not just as a compliance requirement but as a long-term utility business. Unlike traditional EPC players, we position ourselves as a developer and operator, building and owning shared infrastructure assets that generate stable annuity revenues. We provide an integrated solution of water, waste, and energy to allow industries to outsource their environmental management function. Over the next 5-7 years, we aim to emerge as an end-to-end environmental utilities platform that supports industrial clusters through scalable, professionally managed infrastructure.
ET: Your 10 MLD ZLD-compliant CETP is positioned as one of the most advanced in the country. Can you share the project economics, payback period, and how this translates into a scalable revenue model?
AB: The project has been structured using a centralised, capex-optimized approach significantly lowering per-unit costs for participating industries. There are various sources of revenue for the project, including the cost involved in the treatment process, selling of the treated water, and by-products obtained. The payback period of the project is about six years, due to the certainty of demand from industries within the cluster. The model is highly scalable, as it is built on standardized design principles and demand aggregation across industrial clusters, allowing replication in other regions.
ET: What does your current order book look like across water, waste, and energy segments, and how much visibility do you have on revenues over the next 2–3 years?
AB: We presently have a robust and diverse pipeline in water treatment, waste-to-energy, and utility services markets, specifically the food-processing hubs. This ensures that we can forecast revenue for the next 18 to 24 months. Moreover, there has been an increasing proportion of contracts based on annuities and O&M in our business portfolio, enhancing revenue stability for the long run and minimizing reliance on project-based revenues.
ET: As industries adopt shared utilities like centralized steam and wastewater treatment, what is the underlying business model? Are you operating on an annuity, BOOT (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer), or hybrid structure?
AB: Our approach is based on a hybrid model that combines different structures depending on the project. In the case of massive infrastructure projects, we use a BOOT approach (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer), which helps in creating long-term value. Along with this, we maintain a steady cash flow through our annuity-based O&M contracts. Some projects also follow an EPC plus O&M hybrid approach wherein the asset is owned by the customer, but operations are handled by us.
ET: Can you break down your current revenue mix across verticals such as water treatment, energy solutions, and waste management, and which segment is expected to drive the next phase of growth?
AB: At present, the majority of our revenue is derived from water and wastewater management. Energy, especially centralized steam and renewable energy, is the largest vertical and is growing at the fastest pace. Waste management and resource recovery are in the more developmental stages, but strategically provide a large advantage in the future. The anticipated next phase in our growth will stem from energy solutions and resource recovery once demand for cost-effective and sustainable utility services increases from industry.
ET: With regulatory tailwinds like Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) mandates and ESG disclosures, how much of your pipeline is regulation-driven versus purely cost-efficiency-driven demand from clients?
AB: Approximately 60% of our current pipeline is driven by regulatory requirements such as ZLD and ESG. The other 40% is related to efficiency including cost reduction, water security, and operational optimization. Notably, the efficiency-driven segment is growing at an ever-increasing pace because industries are beginning to see significant financial returns associated with using shared utilities and sustainable facilities.
ET: Given the capital-intensive nature of environmental infrastructure, how are you financing expansion? Are you looking at private equity, strategic investors, or green financing instruments?
AB: At the moment, we are using a mix of internal capital and structured debt to support our strategy for growth. In parallel, we are looking into sustainable finance options because many of our projects have sustainability as one of their links. Furthermore, we are assessing ways to obtain strategic investors or private equity partners in order to speed up our growth while also maximizing our long-term capital efficiency.
ET: You operate in a space where execution risk is high? What differentiates your approach to project delivery and operational efficiency compared to traditional EPC players?
AB: We have a unique design-and-operate philosophy, which is based on building assets for long-term operation rather than just execution. It is supported by strong process engineering to guarantee efficiency and reliability from the design stage. We emphasize standardisation and modularity to drive scalability and reduce execution risk, while keeping our commercial and operational controls tight to ensure cost discipline and consistent performance.
ET: With multiple ventures under your leadership, including Go Green Mechanisms and Eonair Technologies, how do you create synergies across these businesses, and does this multi-entity structure improve scalability or add complexity?
AB: Each entity in the ecosystem has its own but complementary roles - Vihaan is an environmental infrastructure platform; Go Green Mechanisms is the environmental engineering and testing backbone; Eonair Technologies supports calibration. Through vertical integration, the ecosystem supports quicker execution, better cost controls, and higher opportunities for cross-selling. Managing many entities increases complexity in the short term, but this will provide a much better way to expand and operate efficiently.
ET: Looking ahead, what are your growth targets in terms of capacity expansion, revenue scale, and geographic footprint over the next five years? Do you see Vihaan evolving into a platform company for integrated environmental utilities?
AB: In the next five years, we will grow capacity by adding CETPs, energy plants, and integrated utility projects in many industrial clusters. We also expect strong double-digit revenue growth with increasing levels of annuity-based income. We will expand geographically by replicating our model in many high-potential industrial regions. Our long-term vision is to position Vihaan as a platform company for integrated environmental utilities, offering a plug-and-play model that enables industries to scale sustainably.
