India Infrastructure Research tracked a total of 48 projects in the water supply and sewerage sector. These projects involve a combined investment of Rs 1.39 trillion. Of these, five projects worth Rs 43.4 billion have been completed, 20 projects (Rs 1.05 trillion) are under implementation, five projects (Rs 21.52 billion) have been awarded but work is yet to start on them and 18 projects (Rs 275.93 billion) have been announced.
Key completed projects
A total of five key projects worth Rs 43.4 billion were completed between December 2016 and December 2017. Of these projects, three water supply projects were completed in December 2016, which entailed an investment of Rs 36.46 billion and two projects worth Rs 6.94 billion were completed during the period February-September 2017. State-wise the maximum investment was allocated for Maharashtra at Rs 28.87 billion followed by Rajasthan at Rs 8.01 billion.
The Gundavali-Bhandup water tunnel project in Maharashtra involved a maximum investment of Rs 28.87 billion. Under the project, a 15 km water pipeline has been laid, for which the contract was awarded to the joint venture (JV) of Soma Enterprises Limited, IVRCL Limited and Unity Infraprojects Limited. Work on the project commenced in November 2009 and was completed in December 2016.
Another project, the 245 million litre per day (mld) Pratap Vihar water treatment plant (WTP) project was inaugurated in December 2016. The Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam had awarded the Rs 2.1 billion contract for the project to Gannon Dunkerly & Company Limited.
Meanwhile, other projects which were completed during 2017-18 are the Indore sewerage system project worth Rs 3.67 billion and the Ajmer and Pushkar water supply scheme worth Rs 2.52 billion.
Key projects under implementation
Of the total number of projects tracked, 20 projects entailing an investment of Rs 1,055.01 billion are under implementation. Segment-wise, 11 projects pertain to the expansion of water supply capacity, seven projects involve the setting up of additional sewerage treatment capacity and two projects involve the laying of stormwater drains. Overall, these projects are expected to create over 3,500 mld of capacity and lay around 1,359 km of pipelines. State-wise, the highest investment has been allocated for Telangana at Rs 428.53 billion, followed by Karnataka and Maharashtra at Rs 175.68 billion and Rs 173.26 billion respectively.
The top five projects account for about 73 per cent of the total investment allocated for the projects. Among these, a water grid project, Mission Bhagiratha, entails the maximum share of Rs 428.53 billion. The project is being executed by the Telangana Drinking Water Supply Corporation in two phases. It aims to provide 100 litres of clean drinking water per person in rural households and 150 litres per person in urban households. As of January 2018, nearly 90 per cent of the work under Phase I has been completed and the remaining 10 per cent work is expected to be completed by March 2018. The construction of 19 intake wells has been completed and the process of installing motors and pumps is in progress. Of the 50 WTPs to be constructed, 27 have been developed. Further, of the 49,184 km long pipeline to be laid, 44,323 km has been completed. The entire project is expected to be completed by May 2018.
Other major projects are the Yettinahole drinking water supply project, the Mumbai sewerage disposal project, Stage II, the Kerala water supply project and the integrated stormwater drainage project for the expanded areas of the Chennai Municipal Corporation.
The Yettinahole drinking water supply project worth Rs 129.12 billion aims to supply drinking water to rural Bengaluru, Kolar, Tumakuru, Hassan, Chikkaballapur and Ramanagara districts of Karnataka. It is being implemented in two stages. Construction work on the first stage of the project is already under way and about 40 per cent of the work is expected to be completed by end March 2018. The entire project will take two to three years to complete.
In Maharashtra, the Mumbai sewerage disposal project, Stage II, Component I (priority works) worth Rs 120 billion is being implemented by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. Under the project, sewage treatment plants (STPs) will be developed at Colaba (37 mld), Worli (493 mld), Bandra (826 mld), Versova (115 mld), Malad (846 mld), Ghatkopar (337 mld) and Bhandup (215 mld). The environmental clearance for all the STPs has been obtained except for the STP at Malad. The work on constructing the Colaba STP has commenced while that of the other six STPs (except Malad) is at the bidding stage.
Awarded projects
India Infrastructure Research tracked five water supply and sewerage projects worth Rs 21.52 billion, which were awarded to various contractors in the past one year. Among these, projects totalling an investment of Rs 13.39 billion have been awarded in Bihar and projects worth Rs 3.8 billion in Karnataka. In Bihar, a 60 mld STP in Patna’s Saidpur zone has been awarded to UEM India Private Limited and Jyoti Build Tech Private Limited. In addition, a 23 mld STP in the city’s Beur zone has been awarded to a JV of Larsen & Toubro, Voltas Limited and GAA Germany. These projects are part of the Namami Gange programme.
Other key awarded projects are the dedicated water supply scheme project for the Erode Municipal Corporation worth Rs 3.6 billion which has been awarded to L&T Construction Limited, the 150 mld Koramangala-Chalaghatta Valley wastewater treatment plant worth Rs 3.8 billion to VA Tech Wabag Limited, and the improvement of water supply project for the Gaya Municipal Corporation worth Rs 3.49 billion to Shriram EPC Limited.
Projects in the planning stage
Of the projects being considered, 18 projects entailing an investment of Rs 275.93 billion are planned to be taken up in the future. Segment-wise, 13 projects with an estimated investment of Rs 233.63 billion pertain to water supply capacity expansion, four projects involve the setting up of sewerage treatment infrastructure at an estimated cost of Rs 35.3 billion and one is a stormwater drainage project at an estimated investment of Rs 7 billion. These planned projects together aim to add over 2,800 mld water supply capacity and 550 km of drainage lines.
State-wise, the maximum investment has been earmarked for Maharashtra at Rs 143.65 billion, followed by Tamil Nadu at Rs 66.76 billion. In Maharashtra, the major projects proposed to be executed include the Pinjal dam water supply project worth Rs 80 billion, the Gargai dam water supply project worth Rs 27.25 billion and the Mulshi dam water supply project worth Rs 18 billion.
In Tamil Nadu, a total of six projects have been tracked which are at the planning stage. Key among these are the Rs 28.91 billion Perur water desalination plant project and the Rs 7 billion Kalapatti underground drainage project.
Recently, in November 2017, the Tamil Nadu government gave administrative sanction for the implementation of the Thamirabarani underground sewerage scheme (Phase II) worth Rs 10.3 billion. Following this, foundation stone for the project was laid. Tenders for the project are yet to be invited.
Conclusion
The water supply and sewerage sector envisages a lucrative pipeline of 43 projects that are either under implementation or planned. However, for timely completion of these projects, a single-window clearance mechanism and the provision of adequate funding for urban local bodies has to be ensured. In the long term, the operation and maintenance of the existing infrastructure is required for sustained provision of services.
