After three failed attempts, the latest bid to find a suitable company to take up work on the two sewage treatment plants (STPs) of the Kozhikode Corporation has succeeded. Four companies responded to a tender floated recently, of which two have been selected. Further proceedings will be carried out after approval by the council and government sanction.
The STPs are being constructed at Kothi and Thoppayil under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) scheme. The estimated cost of the two projects, based on the detailed project report prepared by Ram Biologicals, is ₹116 crore. There had been no response to the tenders floated the first two times. The only company that responded the third time had pointed out flaws in the DPR and demanded ₹179 crore for the project. Though the Corporation Council approved it, the project failed to gain government approval. A high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary had asked the Corporation to re-tender the project.
Four separate tenders were floated for the STPs this time, separately for the plants and collection network. Zimak Hi-tech Productions from Maharashtra has won the tender for the two plants, a 7 MLD plant at Thoppayil and a 6 MLD plant at Kothi, for ₹20.50 crore and ₹17.11 crore respectively. Ahmedabad-based Nasit Infrastructure has won the tender for the collection network (drains through which the sewage will be taken to the plants) for both the plants at ₹51.86 crore and ₹52.97 crore respectively. The total expense for both the plants and the collection network comes to ₹142.44 crore, much lesser than the amount quoted in the earlier tender. The plants are expected to benefit around 90,000 people.
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