CHENNAI: The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) is accelerating work on constructing the third desalination plant at Nemmeli, which will have the capacity to treat 150 million litres per day (MLD).
According to a senior official, the construction of the plant costing Rs 1,516.8 crore, will be completed before the end of the current fiscal year and it will begin operation in April.
The official told TNIE that construction of the plant and the main water transmission pipelines from the desalination plant to Pallavaram is currently underway. Almost 80% of the work was completed.
“Water produced from this plant is to be supplied to the southern parts of the city including Velachery, Alandur, St Thomas Mount, Medavakkam, Kovilambakkam, Nanmangalam, Keelkattalai, Moovarasampettai, Sholinganallur, Ullagaram-Puzhuthivakkam, Madipakkam, and IT corridor, benefiting nearly nine lakh people,” the official added. Another official said Chennai’s water demand stood at 1,400 MLD while the supply was 1,060 MLD. To bridge this gap, it was imperative to identify additional sources. That is why the third desalination project is being carried out in Nemmeli.
The city has no perennial water sources. The existing water sources are dependent on monsoon, and whenever monsoon fails, the city faces drought. The city’s first desalination plant was built at Minjur while the second plant was built at Nemmeli, with a capacity of 100 MLD each.