The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami laid the foundation stone for a ₹1,259-crore seawater desalination plant at Nemmeli on the East Coast Road.
The 150 million litres per day (MLD) plant, which will be completed by 2021-end, will benefit around 9 lakh people in southern Chennai, says a government press release.
Tecton Engineering & Construction LLC, UAE, is the EPC contractor for the plant coming up to the south of Chennai.
There are two desalination plants (at Minjur to the north of the city and at Nemmeli) of 100 MLD each. They cater to nearly 10 lakh residents in North Chennai and 9 lakh residents in the South.
The desalination plant for which the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone today was announced in 2013 by the thenl Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in the State Assembly. It will come up near the existing plant in a 10.50-acre plot.
The German agency KfW will provide a debt of ₹700 crore and the balance is to be obtained as subsidy under the Atal Mission for Urban Rejuvenation and Transformation (AMRUT) of the Central government, said the release.
Chennai’s total water requirement is 830 MLD. Chennai Metrowater currently supplies about 525 MLD through various sources such as groundwater, lakes/reservoirs and desalination plants. This leaves a supply deficit of around 300 MLD every day.