The trial run on the 75-mld water treatment plant newly constructed at Aruvikkara will begin soon.
The water treatment plant received power connection from the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) on Friday, enabling the launch of the trials, officials of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) said. The process is expected to take two weeks to complete. If things go as planned, the plant would be commissioned in the second half of January.
Although the commissioning of the plant was delayed by eight months due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the ₹56.29 crore facility now comes as a New Year gift to the capital city.
Over the next two weeks, all components of the water treatment plant, including raw water pumps, the Lamella Clarifier and the clear water pump house, will be tested for defects.
“We have to be fully satisfied that all components are functioning properly. Work on the plant infrastructure had been completed in December. Soon after, the KWA had also linked the new plant to the transmission mains carrying water from the existing 86- mld plant and the 74-mld plant at Aruvikkara to Peroorkada and PTP Nagar in the capital city,” a KWA official said.
Constructed by Chicago Constructions International Ltd under the centrally-sponsored AMRUT scheme, the project was initially scheduled to be completed in 18 months. The KWA had handed over the site to the contractor in October 2018, but the outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown and delays in making payments to the contractor hit the progress of work.
Due to power connection-related work on the 75-mld plant, the operation of the 72-mld plant at Aruvikkara was halted on Friday. This had disrupted normal supply in some city areas. Pumping was restarted by evening. Full supply restoration was expected by Saturday morning, KWA officials said.
