Chennai’s fourth desalination plant at Perur expected to be commissioned by September

Chennai's fourth desalination plant at Perur, treating 400 mld, is set for trial commissioning by September.

The fourth desalination plant coming up at Perur along the East Coast Road with a capacity to treat 400 million litres a day (mld) of seawater is expected to begin trial commissioning by September this year.

With an aim to meet the drinking water needs of nearly 22.67 lakh residents and strengthening drought resilience, nearly 62% of the seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant has been completed so far. The ₹6,078.40-crore plant will feature two streams of 200 mld each, ensuring a continuous production capacity of 200 mld at any given time, said officials of Chennai Metrowater.

On Wednesday, Municipal Administration Minister K.N. Nehru inspected the ongoing work at the plant, which is being implemented with the financial assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Work to link the seawater drawal pipeline with the caisson structure built for effective collection and processing of seawater is being carried out. The project also involved laying of two pipelines measuring 2,500 mm in diameter and sunk at a depth of 10 metre to bring seawater to the plant. Another pipeline has been laid for a length of 756 metre to discharge brine into the sea.

Simultaneously, work is being executed to construct a pumping station and storage facilities at Perur and also lay a major pipeline for 59 km from the plant till Porur to distribute drinking water.

Among the various components that are being built at the plant, units such as dissolved air flotation and dual media filter have been introduced to remove suspended solids and algae as part of pre-treatment process, said officials.