Minjur desalination plant to be ready by mid-March

Nov. 25: It is good news for the always water starved Chennaites. The Minjur desalination plant is most likely to become operational by mid March 2010. Mantech and ILF, the official technical consultants of Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), have given the technical go ahead for the alternate proposal submitted by Chennai Water Desalination Plant (CWDL) limited.
A senior CWDL official told this paper that the project would be completed by mid March next year if the board immediately gives the final sanction.
Last month, CWDL submitted an alternative proposal for the last leg of the project that comprises laying of inlet and outlet pipes on seabed for over 500 metres. It may be worthwhile to note that about 96 per cent of the project comprising construction of the desalination plant and laying of transportation pipes from the plant to the city was completed long back.
Owing to high sea turbidity, the original idea of deep burial of the pipes was shelved, apparently, leading to a delay of over 10 months now. As per the alternate proposal now approved by CMWSSB’s consultants, 1,600 mm diameter HDPE (high density poly-ethylene pipes) would be partially buried in the seabed and covered using armour blocks. After rounds of technical presentations, CWDL finally obtained the green signal in the last fortnight. Now all that the project-implementing agency waits for is just the final sanction from the CMWSSB. CWDL officials observed that the preliminary works like mobilising the pipes and construction of concrete armour blocks would begin immediately and the actual pipe laying work would be started mid December, provided the board gives immediate sanction. As per the alternate proposal the inlet pipe and outlet pipes would be partially buried in the seabed and covered with concrete armour blocks for 683 metres and 800 metres, respectively, CWDL officials pointed out adding that the pipe burial could be completed within 90 days from the start of the work. With the CWDL promising plant operationalisation just before the onset of summer, Chennaites could hope for a summer without acute water shortage in 2010 as the 100 million litres per day supplied from the plant would only be a bonus to the city.