GEE: INITIAL PROPOSAL

FACT: According to the ‘Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems’, carried out by the World Resources Institute, currently 2.3 billion people, or 41 per cent of the world’s population, live in water stressed areas. Of this total, 1.7 billion live in water scarce areas, with less than 1,000 cubic metres per person per year.

SOURCE: http://www.peopleandplanet.net/doc.php?id=671&section=14

PROBLEM: Acute world fresh water shortage

POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Solar powered water desalination plant, moored off the coast of developing countries, with the potential to pump fresh water inland for distribution to water scarce areas.

BUSINESS ANALYSIS: The aim of this assignment is to create a profitable business venture, affordable to the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ market – people who earn less than US$2 a day.
This business concept not only has the potential to create a large revenue, but it could also have the capacity to change the lives of those in need.

Every year hundreds of container ships are sent to ship recycling yards to be broken down. Most international sea going vessels have on-board desalination plants which convert salt water into fresh water for use on board the ship. If we could purchase an ‘end-of-life’ ship before it is sent to the wreckers, and convert it into a floating desalination plant, we could potentially generate enormous amounts of fresh water which could be pumped to storage units on shore.

The desalination plant could be solar powered, because there is an excess of sunlight in many developing nations. Therefore, the only costs would be the initial start up costs of purchasing the vessel and installing a solar powered generator on board. The pipelines which would be used to pump the water ashore could also be solar powered, thus making the business completely sustainable.

If we sold our water at an extremely cheap rate (a few cents a litre), our product would be easily affordable for the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ market, and our start up costs would quickly pay for themselves through the revenue earned.

The benefit of buying an entire container ship, rather than just the desalination unit, is that the hold of the ship could be cleared out and converted into a storage area for the fresh water. An old Panamax tanker (designed for use on the Panama canal) would be ideal. These ships were the biggest of their kind when they were built about 25 years ago, but they are now coming to the end of their lifespan and are no longer needed. They would be cheap to purchase, and have a full capacity of over 50, 000 tonnes. That is a lot of fresh water!!

A tanker is also transportable, so if there is the possibility of bad weather the ship could be moved to calmer waters.

Once the business is up and running, the ship could be replaced by a barge with several desalination units and a solar powered generator. The water could be pumped directly to shore and stored in pump houses, and the ship could be moved to a new area and the process could start again.

Once the initial costs have been repaid, the floating desalination plant could be donated to ‘bottom of the pyramid’ nations to sustain their development.

Our business will distribute fresh water directly to these villages – thus eliminating the time and effort required to pump water from a well. It will also improve the health, hygiene and economic development of these communities.

In a poverty reducing cycle, the excess crops that could be grown with the increased water supply could be sold to generate a larger income for these communities.

2005 to 2015 is the International decade for Action : Water for Life. Let’s reverse the cycle of drought and give water to those who are in desperate need.

http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/

Please read this article on a similar project in India, established in 2007.
(Note our project is slightly different because it is solar powered, thus being completely sustainable and environmentally friendly)
NB. India is the world’s largest ship recycling industry, followed by China.

http://www.headlinesindia.com/archive_html/18April2007_35210.html

BE READY TO DISCUSS THIS PROPOSAL AT OUR NEXT MEETING ON FRIDAY. THINK ABOUT ALL ASPECTS OF THIS BUSINESS, FROM PRODUCTION TO DISTRIBUTION TO AN ORIGINAL TARGET MARKET. GOOD LUCK !