Indian city receives fund for two new desalination plants

The Indian city of Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu has been given funds by the government to build two new desalination plants in the villages of Nemmeli and Pattipulam.

The government of Tamil Nadu has proposed funds of INR10bn ($185.4m) for the construction of the new desalination facilities, which will be built on the East Coast Road.

The first desalination plant will be set up on 10.5 acres of land adjacent to the existing facility in Nemmeli, and will be designed with a capacity of 150 million litres per day.

The plant will provide water to over 646,000 people in the region, reported The Hindu.

The second Nemmeli desalination plant will address the drinking water requirements of the extended areas of the southern part of Chennai, in the areas of Alandur, Perungudi, Kottivakkam, Puzhuthivakkam, Pallikaranai, Madipakkam, Sholinganallur, Karapakkam, Neelankarai, Injambakkam, Semmencherry, Uthandi, and Okkiyam-Thoraipakkam.

The second plant at Pattipulam will have a capacity of 200 million litres per day, which can be increased to 400 million litres in the future.

Chennai Metro Water board has already started working on the Pattipulam plant project, which will be situated only a few kilometres from the facility in Nemmeli.

The Pattipulam desalination plant is expected to take four years to complete.

The Tamil Nadu government has also proposed a INR3bn ($55.6m) drinking water scheme under its Chennai Metropolitan Development Plan to provide potable water through pipes in 14 areas.

The government has also allotted INR1.21bn ($22.4m) for a sewerage project that is expected to benefit about 80,000 people in the city.

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Image: The new desalination plants in the Indian city of Chennai will be built under a $185.4m fund from the state government. Photo: Courtesy of James Grellier.