Foundation stone for 3rd desal plant at Nemmeli laid, to be ready by 2021

CHENNAI: To mark the beginning of construction of the new 150 MLD desalination plant, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami laid the foundation stone at Nemmeli on Thursday. 

While the Rs 1,259 crore worth project is funded partly by German funding agency KfW, a part is covered under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. The state government has taken Rs 700 crore on loan from KfW and the rest from the Central government. 

Speaking about the other mega desalination plant coming up at Perur, Palaniswami  said that the budget of this project has been revised from Rs 4,070 crore to Rs 6,078 crore. “Out of this, Rs 4,267 crore will be funded by Japanese funding agency JICA and the remaining Rs 1810 crore will be funded by the state government. We are also looking into setting up more desalination plants along coastal districts that are facing water scarcity,” he added.

After being kept on the back-burner for nearly six years, work order for this plant was recently issued on May 27. For nearly six months, the tender process couldn’t be commenced due to a pending case at the Madras High Court. 

Officials said that the plant will be commissioned by December 2021 and will supply water to nearly nine lakh residents in South Chennai.  Areas that will get water from this plant are Nanmangalam, Keelkatalai, Kovilambakkam, Moovarasanpet Madipakkam, Shollinganallur, Ullagaram, Puzhuthivakkam and the IT corridor on Rajiv Gandhi Salai.