About 20% of the construction of the fourth desalination plant in the city, which is coming up along the East Coast Road in Perur, has been completed.
Municipal Administration Minister K.N. Nehru reviewed the construction work on Wednesday.
Work is in progress to construct various components of the plant, including the intake structure; clear water storage space; a product water tank; an RO permeate tank; and a sludge thickener, besides a compound wall. The under-construction desalination plant will have a capacity to treat 400 million litres (mld) of seawater per day.
While the work to lay a 1.1-km-long pipeline to draw seawater and release brine into seabed has started, a tender has been floated to lay another pipeline for a distance of 59 km (till Porur) to supply water.
The ₹4,276.44-crore project, which has been taken up with support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, would cater to the needs of 22.67 lakh residents of Chennai and Tambaram corporations and 20 other local bodies.
Various components such as dissolved air flotation and dual media filter have been introduced to remove suspended solids and algae, the Minister said. The project is set to be completed by 2027. Mr. Nehru instructed the officials present to finish the work within the stipulated period.
The Minister also reviewed the functioning of the third desalination plant (Nemmeli), which has a capacity to treat about 150 mld of seawater. At present, Chennai Metrowater taps nearly 125 mld of seawater from the Nemmeli plant for distribution across the city.
Thiruporur MLA S.S. Balaji; Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department secretary D. Karthikeyan; and other officials from the Chennai Metrowater and the Chengalpattu district administration were present.
