The much-awaited Maradu water treatment plant will become fully operational this December, said water resources minister P.J. Joseph on Friday.
Built under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, the plant which has the capacity to pump 100 million litres has been providing less than 10 mld because of incomplete works in pipeline laying and adequate power connectivity.
The deadline for commissioning the Rs. 210-crore project has been postponed many times. “Once the 100 mld project is commissioned, it will solve the drinking water issues of Kochi to some extent. Transformers to augment the pumping will reach here by end of the month,” Mr. Joseph said.
Speaking to the media in Kochi after a review meeting of KWA projects, Mr. Joseph said that the work on the Rs. 238-crore new water treatment plant at Kalamassery will begin in January 2015.
Around 15 acres of land in the HMT campus will be used for setting up the treatment plant at Kalamassery.
The project will be taken up in a time-bound manner, he said.
Meanwhile, water resources secretary V.J. Kurian admitted that laying pipelines across railway lines in the areas like Aroor is still a challenge. Laying of pipelines will be completed in all points, except in Chellanam will be completed in October. Chellanam will be covered by November.
Projects like Chowara and Choondy will be augmented so as to reduce the dependency of the suburban areas on the supply from Aluva plant. Though the built-in capacity of the Chowara project is 63 mld, only 40 mld is being produced. Additional water generated can be supplied to Vypeen islands.
The Choondy project is producing only 26 mld of water when it has the capacity of 46 mld, said Mr. Kurian.
