There’s good news for the people in the coastal areas who are the worst sufferers of the potable water supply crisis in the district. The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) is eyeing the coastal areas of the district, especially Kochuveli, to set up desalination plants.
As many as 18 companies have expressed interest in extending consultancy service for setting up desalination plants of capacity between 0.1 million litre per day (mld) and 20 mld in areas which face acute water shortage.
Apart from Kochuveli, desalination plants are also planned at Kuttanad and Thrissur.
According to an official of the non-revenue water management wing of KWA, around 10 companies were short-listed for the project. “The short-listed companies were asked to prepare technical and financial proposals. Soon, a tender will be floated to set up a mini desalination plant in coastal areas such as Kochuveli,” he said.
The government has earmarked ` 16 crore for the construction of desalination plants. Officials said that more than one plant will come up in the district. However, they are yet to decide on the total number of plants and their exact location.
“Desalination plants are costly compared to other water supply projects. They are envisaged in areas where all other options fail. In Thiruvananthapuram, coastal areas suffer the most during the summer season. Water from desalination plants will be distributed in the coastal areas,” the official said.
Gurgaon-based Aecom India and CH2M Hill, Ahmedabad-based Doshion Veolia, New Delhi-based Engineers India and Parsons Brinckerhoff India, Chennai-based Tebodin India and Fichtner India, Bangalore-based Mecon and Mumbai-based MWH India and Tata Consulting Engineers are the short-listed companies.
The difficulty in laying an extensive pipeline network in low-lying areas such as coastal and backwater regions prompted the KWA to think of setting up desalination plants. Water scarcity is one of the major drawbacks of these areas, where tourism is a flourishing business.
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