‘KfW, JICA nod awaited for desal plants bids’

Duraimurugan placed on record that there was a delay of six months in the opening of bids to the 150 MLD project for which the state had already borrowed money and paying interest. Velumani retorted that there was a similar delay in issuing work order to a 100 MLD plant set up by the DMK as that project was also funded by an international agency. 

When Duraimurugan wanted to know what was preventing the state from opening the technical bids, the Minister, who stated out the project details, said that the German funding agency has to be kept in the loop of things at every stage of the project’s progress. 

“Bids from several firms, including those from Spain and Israel, among others, were received. The Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewage Board (CMWSSB), meanwhile, obtained CRZ clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest. The bids, in the meanwhile, were forwarded to KfW on January 2, 2018 and are awaiting their approval to open the bids”, Velumani said. On funding, the Minister said the German development bank funded 100 million euros which roughly worked out to about Rs 700 crore and the rest was decided to be mobilised through Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). 

As regards to the 400 MLD project, Velumani said that the project awaits approval from JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). 

“The project was initially estimated to cost Rs 3,000 crore and the revised estimates pegs the project’s cost as Rs 5,000 crore,” he said.