Vizag to get desalination plant, APPFCS to submit prefeasibility report in 2 weeks, 60 acres of APIIC land identified near Pudimadaka coast for Plant, APPFCS team studied Plants in Dubai, Singapore, UAE & Chennai

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Mar 1, 2013: To meet the ever increasing demand-supply gap of water to industry needs Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) had come up with a proposal to convert abundantly available seawater useful by setting up a desalination plant, which was proved a success in Chennai.

 The present demand and supply gap of water for industry needs of 20 Million Gallons Daily (MGD) is projected to go up by 30 MGD by 2015. GVMC authorities had appointed AP Project Facilitator and Consultancy Services Ltd (APPFCS) as consultant to prepare a detailed feasibility report on setting up a desalination plant in Vizag. 

APPFCS team visited various desalination plants in Dubai, Singapore and UAE including the country’s only such Plant in operation in Chennai and is giving finishing touches to the prefeasibility report.

“In all likelihood the prefeasibility report to set up a plant to desalinate 20 MGD water will be ready in a couple of weeks. We have studied many desalination plants and various aspects including cost effectiveness. If the industry sector is made use the desalinated water the present supply to the sector can be diverted to domestic needs in the city. I feel desalinated water is the only choice and option available in the future to meet ever increasing water needs of Vizag, which is rapidly growing,” APPFCS, chief consultant, K Lakshminarayana told this correspondent.

The APPFCS team also identified 60 acres of land suitable for the Plant belonging to APIIC near APSEZ in Pudimadaka coast. As per Vuda Master Plan, even with projected supply from Polavaram project, the city will have a shortfall for drinking water and industries by 614 million litres per day and without Polavaram 1,424 million litres per day by 2020. The Godavari water that is supplied to the city needs will also shortfall in future.

Though a similar attempt earlier was made to set up desalination plant on a small scale in Bheemili to meet drinking water needs of an approximate 45,000 population never took off.  There was a proposal to set up desalination plant at a cost of Rs11 cr, using reverse osmosis process to desalinate 2.86 Million Litres Daily (MLD). Bheemili was chosen for setting up the desalination plant by the Union ministry of urban development as a model project using indigenous technology and micro thin membranes. 

“After the prefeasibility report is submitted by the consultant we will have to see whether it should be taken up under PPP mode or a total government project. We also need to find a suitable technical partner for the project,” GVMC additional commissioner (Projects) Nagendra Kumar, told this newspaper.

GVMC authorities are confident that once prefeasibility report is adapted things will move relatively fast and desalination plant will be a reality in a period of three years from then, which is the only future to meet Vizag’s water needs both domestic and industry sectors.