Coimbatore Corporation will soon begin work on the sewage treatment plant (STP) at Ondipudur.
According to Mayor S.M. Velusamy, the Corporation had awarded the contract to Gharpure Engineering and Construction Private Limited, Gujarat.
The company would begin the work in 10 days on the Rs. 60-crore project.
The Corporation had entered into an agreement with the contractor to complete the work in 18 months but had asked it to complete it at the earliest.
Mr. Velusamy said that the Corporation chose Gharpure Engineering and Construction Private Limited after the latter had successfully completed and commissioned the sewage treatment plant at Ukkadam. The Ondipudur plant would have a capacity to treat 50 million litres sewage a day.
The contractor starting work on the treatment plant comes along with the civic body also kick-starting the work on the Third Package of Under Ground Drainage Scheme. Mr. Velusamy said that the Corporation had also issued work order to the contractor for starting the Third Package, which involved laying underground sewerage system for 210 km at a cost of Rs. 159 crore.
The work on the Third Package got delayed after the Coimbatore Corporation terminated the contract of the original contractor on charges of poor execution of work and reassigned the work to Southern Engineering Works. The Mayor said that the new contractor would also complete the work in 18 months.
The Corporation going ahead with the two projects comes even as it faces a challenge in building the Nanjundapuram sewage treatment plant. Residents of Nanjundapuram Road have moved the court opposing the construction of the treatment plant arguing that it would be detrimental to the ecology of the area and was against rules.
Mr. Velusamy said that the Corporation was working on having the stay vacated and going ahead with the construction.
