CHENNAI: More than 50% of the work on the third desalination plant at Nemmeli along the East Coast Road with a capacity to treat 150 million litres a day of seawater has been completed. Also, pipeline laying work to supply the treated water to various areas is almost complete, according to the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB).
Once commissioned, it will benefit more than nine lakh people living in South Chennai and suburban areas including Medavakkam, Velachery, Alandur, St Thomas Mount, Madipakkam, Nanmangalam, Puzhithivakkam, Sholinganallur and Siruseri.
Currently, some of these areas are totally dependent on overhead tanks supplied by Metro Water as well as the groundwater, which dries up during the summer. The project is being undertaken at an estimate cost of Rs 1,200 crore under the AMRUT Scheme and with financial assistance from KfW (German Development Bank).
“The construction began in October 2020 and is scheduled to be completed by April 2023. Currently, 51.25% of the construction is complete. The desalination plant alone is being construct at a cost of Rs 1,516.82 crore,” said a senior official from the Chennai Metro Water Board. The official added that 85.41% of pipeline laying work is complete. So far, pipelines to the distance of 38.78 km have been laid.
“Currently the construction of intake sump, dissolved air flotation and ultra filter and reverse osmosis units is under process. The size of the intake pipeline would be about 2,250 mm in diameter, which may be one of the first to be used for a desalination plant in the country,” said the official.
Apart from this, bids have also been called after the state government accorded administrative sanction to establish a 400 MLD desalination plant for Rs 6,078.40 crore. This will be the fourth such plant for the metro.