Work on 24x7 drinking water supply project to finally pick up speed
Ludhiana, August 31
Work on the Rs 3,394.45-crore 24x7 canal-based surface drinking water supply project in the city is likely to start soon, officials concerned have confirmed.
The municipal corporation (MC) has formally signed the contract with a Mumbai-based joint venture company (JVC), which has been awarded the work for Rs 1,546-crore. The development assumes significance as the ambitious project was conceived during the previous Capt Amarinder Singh regime in 2021, but could not take off due to certain reasons.
Sharing details, the MC Commissioner, Sandeep Rishi, told The Tribune here on Friday that the MC had formalised the contract agreement with M/s Kalpataru Projects International Limited (KPTL) Ohitan JV, which had been mandated to complete the project on design-build services (DBS) basis within 36 months from the date of award, July 10, and undertake the operation and maintenance (O&M) services for the next 10 years.
He disclosed that the execution of the work on DBS had been awarded at Rs 1,305.31 crore, O&M services at Rs 156.44 crore and a provisional sum of Rs 84.25 lakh had been provided to the concessionaire for undertaking the project.
To provide potable water
It is a much-needed project for Ludhiana, where the groundwater table is depleting by 0.5-1m every year. By getting potable water round-the-clock, local residents would also get respite from the heavy metals and radioactive elements present in the groundwater. This would also improve the health conditions of the city population. — Sandeep Rishi, MC Commissioner
“After accepting the bid, which was the lowest among the four received for the project, the letter of acceptance was issued to the successful bidder on July 10 and formal contract was signed on August 30,” Rishi revealed, while informing that the firm had undertaken the survey, besides channelising its human resources and machinery here.
The MC chief said the scheme would be executed in two phases, with the first phase comprising raw water system, water treatment plant (WTP), treated water pumping, transmission mains from water treatment plant to overhead service reservoirs, and the second part will comprise distribution system and house service connection with metering process.
“As of now, the work on the first phase will be executed with the World Bank support, while the second part work will be taken up subsequently under other schemes,” Rishi said.
Under the project, as many as 137 overhead supply reservoirs and 173-km-long transmission main lines will supply 24x7 canal-based surface drinking water supply to the residents of Ludhiana. “The objective of the project is to shift from groundwater to surface water on 24x7 supply basis,” he stated.
Rishi further said 53.02 acres located adjacent to the proposed raw water source at Bilga village had already been purchased for setting up the WTP. The WB and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) had approved $105 million each for the ambitious project in March 2021. The state government will give $90-million.
Major focus of the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Improvement Project (PMSIP) will be on providing efficient water supply and sanitation services in Ludhiana and Amritsar, cities. The improvement in the water supply will benefit more than 3-million people by 2027. Industrial and commercial users would also benefit from the good quality reliable water supply.
