The third desalination plant coming up along the East Coast Road at Nemmeli will be ready by July.
Minister for Municipal Administration K.N. Nehru, who reviewed the progress of the ₹1,516.82 -crore project, instructed the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) officials to complete the construction of all the components of the project by July. The third plant would have a capacity to treat 150 million litres of seawater daily.
Work is on to build various units, including seawater intake sump, clarified water tank, dissolved air flotation, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis pumphouse and limestone filter structure. The Minister reviewed the progress of the offshore work to lay pipelines to draw seawater and discharge brine. The size of the seawater intake pipeline would be about 2,250 mm in diameter.
He inspected the ongoing work to lay 49-km-long pipeline of various diameters — 1,400 mm, 1,200 mm and 300 mm — to cater to the water needs of nearly nine lakh people. Water from the upcoming plant would supply drinking water to Madipakkam, Velachery, Alandur, Medavakkam, Nanmangalam, St. Thomas Mount and the areas in the IT corridor.
Mr. Nehru visited the site where a 400 mld desalination plant would be constructed at Perur, a few km from Nemmeli desalination plant, at a cost of ₹6,078.40 crore. Rural Industries Minister T.M. Anbarasan, CMWSSB managing director R. Kirlosh Kumar, CMWSSB executive director Raja Gopal Sunkara and Chengalpattu Collector A.R. Rahul Nadh were present.
Earlier, Mr. Nehru inspected the renovation work being taken up at the CMWSSB headquarters in Chintadripet.
