Chennai Desalination project could be delayed

The commissioning of the 100-million litres a day (mld) desalination plant at Kattupalli near suburban Minjur is likely to be delayed by four months. It was scheduled to be commissioned in August this year.

Attributing the delay to unseasonal rain in March, Chennai Metrowater officials said about 70 per cent of the works had been completed. Dredging operation also could not be carried out due to rough sea. Dredging would facilitate laying of a separate pipeline to draw seawater from 10-metre-depth below sea level and discharge waste water, a Metrowater official said.

Though about 15 mld of water was to be supplied on completion of the first phase of the project, envisaged to be completed in May, the delay had pushed the project deadline to December, he said.

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, started implementing the project on a DBOOT (design, build, own, operate and transfer) basis last year.

The official said work for constructing units such as sand filters and cartridge filters, used to remove minute particles as part of the preliminary treatment, was under way. The process to erect five reverse osmosis units, an important component in desalinating seawater, was also in progress. Each of the unit that had a capacity to treat 20 mld of seawater would be commissioned one after another during December, the official said.

About Rs.118 crore was expected to be spent on purchase of water from the Minjur plant.