Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday through video conferencing laid the foundation stone for a new desalination plant to come up at Perur on East Coast Road near here at a cost of ₹4,276.44 crore with a capacity to treat 400 million litres of seawater per day. Once set up, the plant will be the biggest of its kind in Southeast Asia, according to an official release.
The project, to be executed by the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) with funding support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), will be completed by December 2026. The plant will cater to 22.67 lakh people in areas falling under the Tambaram Corporation, Greater Chennai Corporation and 20 village panchayats near the city.
The dissolved air flotation and dual media filters to be used in the plant will be of a more advanced design than what is normally used in other desalination plants. The project will involve laying high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes at sea for about 1.15 km and pipes for 59 km till Porur on land to carry the treated water.
