The Korea Water Resources Corporation or K-Water, a government owned corporation with more than 40 years experience in managing water resources, has evinced interest in implementing the Telangana drinking water grid programme in Mahabubnagar district which will have the largest network of the grid to supply tapped water in all rural and urban households.
A four-member delegation of K-Water led by its leader Kyu Won Chung will negotiate the terms and conditions of participation in the programme with TS officials on Thursday, sources said.
They added that the corporation had offered to invest up to Rs. 10,000 crore and get the contract for the project in Mahbubnagar on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis but the State government was opposed to EPC system of implementation as it was keen on works being grounded by its own detailed project reports that were prepared after surveys.
K-Water will be the second international agency which has shown interest in the programme after Japan International Cooperation Agency. Several lending institutions in India have also come forward to fund the programme, including HUDCO which has offered a loan of Rs. 5,000 crore and NABARD Rs. 3,000 crore. A consortium led by IL & FS had already come forward while the State government itself allotted a budget of Rs. 6,000 crore for the programme this year. Similar allocations in the subsequent years will ensure a deluge of funds for the Rs. 43,000 crore project. The grid will comprise 26 segments in nine districts and requires 39.19 tmc ft water from Krishna and Godavari basins. The length of primary pipelines is also the highest in the district running into 5,225 km.
Korean agency offers to invest Rs. 10,000 crore; several lending institutions such as HUDCO also evince interest in the project
