The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Minjur desalination plant to be operational by August

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Friday, Feb 01, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Minjur desalination plant to be operational by August

K. Lakshmi

First phase of project will be completed by mid-May

— Photo: K.Pichumani

IN PROGRESS: A view of some of the units being constructed at the proposed desalination plant in Kattupalli .

CHENNAI: Kattupalli near Minjur, which is known for its biodiversity, will soon get another identity as work on the 100-million-litres-a-day (mld) desalination plant, proposed in the area, is progressing well. Nearly 65 per cent of the works have been completed so far, say Chennai Metrowater officials.

A visit to the plant site spread across 60 acres revealed that the civil works of several units in the plant were under way. A Metrowater official said the first phase of the project to supply about 15 mld of water would be completed by mid-May.

Only about 30 acres of space is being used up for construction to suit future requirement. About 600 labourers were involved in constructing the plant that would desalinate sea water and augment the water supply, especially to residents in northern parts of the city.

Chennai Water Desalination Limited, a special-purpose vehicle formed by IVRCL Infrastructures and Projects Limited and its technical partner Befesa Construccion y Tecnologia Ambiental, Spain, has taken up the project on the DBOOT (design, build, own, operate and transfer) basis.

On the works under progress, the official said about 90 per cent of the work on intake tower to draw sea water from 10 metre below sea level had been completed. Separate pipelines to draw raw water and discharge waste water would be laid in about two weeks, he said.

Units such as sand filters and cartridge filters, used to remove minute particles as part of the preliminary treatment process, were also under way.

Nearly 237 mld of raw water would be used to generate 100 mld of drinking water at the cost of Rs. 48.66 per kilo litre.

The remaining waste water would be discharged into the sea.

Pipes of different sizes from 1,600 mm diameter to 25 mm were being used for the project, he said. About 75 per cent of the civil work for setting up the reverse osmosis unit, an important component in desalinating sea water, has been finished.

A pumping station is also being constructed to transport the treated water from the plant through a 30-km pipeline to Red Hills, the official said. About 40 per cent of the pipeline-laying work worth Rs.93 crore has been completed.

The plant would be fully operational by August, the official added.

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