Unable to find takers, the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has been forced to invite bids afresh for constructing the water treatment plant (WTP) for the Neyyar water supply project, a 120 mld (million litres a day) initiative billed as the long-term solution to the water woes of the State capital. The KWA (PH Circle -Thiruvananthapuram) floated the new tender on June 26.
The KWA had floated a tender for the project in April this year also after cancelling the initial contract awarded to a Thiruvananthapuram-based firm after land disputes and the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the implementation.
Although the deadline was extended a number of times since April, the ₹60-crore project had failed to attract bidders.
One reason for the lukewarm interest may have been the decision to reduce the project implementation period from the original 18 months to 12 months, a senior KWA official said. To make the project more attractive, the KWA management is likely to increase the time limit to 15 months. “A decision on it is expected soon,”' the official said.
Apart from a WTP equipped with plate settler technology (lamella clarifier), the contract also includes the construction of a floating water-intake structure, raw-water pumping main, a submerged centrifugal pump set, an electrical substation building and SCADA system. KWA plans to hold a pre-bid meet on July 14.
Designed as an alternative drinking water source for the capital city, the Neyyar project promises 100 mld to the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation areas. The remaining 20 mld will be divided among four panchayats in the district.
Meanwhile, the construction of the water transmission main - the second component of the Neyyar project which will be carried out as a separate work - has reportedly run into difficulties over its alignment. The KWA had planned to lay the 1422 mm, mild steel pipeline by cutting the road. However, the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board which is funding this work prefers to have the alignment shifted to the side of the road. The transmission line will cover a distance of 23.8 km from the project site at Neyyar to the ground-level storage reservoir at PTP Nagar.
Although the KWA had awarded the contract for this pipeline work to an Erode-based firm, it was cancelled after the latter failed to execute the agreement. Fresh tenders will be floated for the work once a decision regarding the alignment is finalised, KWA officials said.
