Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday inaugurated the `871.24-crore Nemmeli desalination plant, which will quench the thirst of 15 lakh people in south Chennai.
Built by V A Tech Wabag Ltd in consortium with Israel-based IDE Technologies, the plant is expected to supply the city an additional 100 million litres of drinking water per day (MLD).
The plant has come up on 40.05 acres of land belonging to the Alavandar Trust on ECR in Nemmeli and Krishnan Karanai villages in Kancheepuram district. The land has been leased out to Chennai Metro Water for 30 years.
Speaking at the inauguration, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department Secretary K Phanindra Reddy and Metro Water Managing Director B Chandra Mohan said that 100 MLD of desalinated potable water would be produced after the reverse osmosis of 265 MLD of water that will be drawn from the sea by laying pipes for a length of 1,000 metres.
After the water is desalinated, brine would be released back into the sea through a 650-metre-long pipeline, they explained.
Reddy said the desalinated water would be supplied to residents in Velachery, Palipattu, Tiruvanmiyur and IT corridor. The water will be supplied through the pumping stations at Nemmeli, Akarai, Tiruvanmiyur and Velachery.
Metro Water engineers said the desalinated water would be supplied to the city starting next month. Interestingly, the Nemmeli plant is more sophisticated than the Minjur desalination plant, officials said.
“The Minjur desalination plant was built on a conventional system, while Nemmeli was built using latest technologies like ultra filtration membrane and reverse osmosis membrane. The technology is such that it even removes bacteria,” said a Metro Water engineer.
The Chennai Metro Water said the operation and maintenance of the plant would be done by VA Tech Wabag for seven years, at a cost of Rs 70 crore per year.
At present, the State government buys 90 MLD of water every day from the Minjur desalination plant at an average cost of Rs 48.66 per kilolitre (4.8 paise per litre of water). Chennai Metro Water and Sewerage Supplies Board pegs the cost of water desalinated at the Nemmeli desalination plant at Rs 21 per kilolitre.