Construction of water plant to begin Tuesday

KATHMANDU, FEB 02 -

Construction of a water treatment plant, one of the two major components of the multi-million dollar Melamchi Drinking Water and Supply Project (MDWSP), will kick off on Tuesday.

The plant, with a capacity of 850 million litres, will be used to treat water supplied through 27-km tunnel of the project. The project, being implemented by the government with support from donors, plans to supply 170 million litres of water per day to the Kathmandu valley denizens within the next two years.

The project, which covers Sindupalchowk and Kathmandu districts, includes two important infrastructures—a 27-km diversion tunnel and the water treatment plant in Sundarijal.

The water treatment plant, being built with an estimated cost of Rs 4.2 billion, is expected to complete by November 2015.

Japan’s Ambassador to Nepal Masashi Ogawa plans to visit Sundarijal to attend the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the plant on Tuesday, according to a press note shared by Japanese Embassy on Friday. The plant is being constructed under the financial assistance of the Government of Japan which has agreed to extend 5.495 billion yen in loans to Nepal.

The water treatment plant will collect water supplied through the water diversion tunnel from the Melamchi River and treat the water before discharging and distributing it to consumers of the Kathmandu Valley.

In July last year, an agreement was signed between the Nepal government and the Austrian-Indian joint contractor named VA Tech Wabag Limited-Pratibha lndustries to construct the plant with concessional loans from Japan International Cooperation Agency. In the bid document, it is mentioned the contractor of the water treatment plant has to complete construction within 27 months. Melamchi project is a co-finance project with Asian Development Bank and has been considered as a long-term solution to the valley’s water crisis.

Source: The Kathmandu Post