CHENNAI : Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday inaugurated the 150 million litres per day (MLD) desalination plant at Nemmeli in Chengalpattu district to address the drinking water needs of more than nine lakh people in southern parts of Chennai. The Rs 1,516.82-crore plant is the biggest in the state so far.
Two 100 MLD plants are already functioning in Minjur in Tiruvallur district and Nemmeli. In August 2023, Stalin laid the foundation for 400 MLD capacity desalination plant at Perur in Chengalpattu district. When the Perur plant becomes operational, it will be the biggest desalination plant in Southeast Asia, the state government had said.
Speaking after the inauguration of the plant on Saturday, Stalin recalled that it was him, as minister for local administration in the DMK government between 2006 and 2011, who laid the foundation for the 100 MLD desalination plants in Minjur and Nemmeli.
Stating that the DMK government was initiating such infrastructure projects keeping in mind the growing demand for infrastructure projects in Chennai, the CM said Chennai will have 750 MLD-capacity desalination plants in the country when the Perur unit becomes operational. A release from the government said work to lay pipelines for 48 km and build a pumping station in Sholinganallur have been completed to distribute drinking water from the new plant in Nemmeli to residents in areas like Velachery, Alandur, St. Thomas Mount, Medavakkam, Sholinganallur, and Ullagaram.
Stalin lays foundation stone for 39 projects
Along with the new desalination plant, the CM on Saturday inaugurated 96 projects implemented for Rs 2,465 crore by various departments, including municipal administration and water supply, across the state. The CM also laid foundation stones for 39 new projects to be implemented at a cost of Rs 1,802 crore. He said these projects will be completed ahead of their schedule. Responding to a request made by Minister for Municipal Administration K N Nehru at the function, Stalin said the new building being constructed by the government close to Ripon Building will be named after late CM M Karunanidhi as “Kalaignar Centenary Building”.