India’s largest tertiary treatment reverse osmosis plant was inaugurated on Thursday at Koyambedu in the heart of the city by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. The 45 million litres per day plant was built at a cost of ₹486.21 crore.
The Koyambedu Tertiary Treatment Plant, which will ensure water security for industries in south Chennai, will treat the city’s sewage to drinking water standards using ultra filtration, reverse osmosis and ozonation. The plant will use secondary treated water from Metrowater, the public sector utility’s plant, for tertiary treatment.
By enabling reuse of treated sewage for industries, the plant will help save over 1,600 crore litres of freshwater every year.
The contract was awarded by Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board to VA Tech WABAG Ltd, which set up the plant and will operate and maintain it for 15 years. WABAG has partnered with IDE Technologies, a leading solution provider of desalination and water treatment, to implement the project. There is a provision to increase to 60 MLD, said an official of WABAG.
The project is funded by the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, the Government of India and the Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme.
The IDE-WABAG consortium has been selected by the client because of their ample experience in RO and industrial reuse technologies, flexible financing capabilities and strong local presence, says a release from IDE Technologies.
This is the second such unit in Chennai with the first one inaugurated recently at Kodungaiyur in North Chennai.