Chandigarh, April 2: The World Bank and Asian InfrastructureInvestment Bank (AIIB) has approved 300 Million US dollars loan for canal baseddrinking water schemes under Punjab Municipal Services Improvement Project witha view to ensure quality drinking water 24x7 and minimize the water losses forholy city Amritsar and industrial hub Ludhiana.
Notably, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh hadbeen vigorously pursuing with the Centre to secure World Bank and AIIB loan toensure clean drinking water to the residents in these cities. The other twocanal based water supply projects in Jalandhar and Patiala are already underexecution.
It may be recalled that at present, Amritsar and Ludhianaare being supplied with ground water source i.e. tube wells. As per the CentralGround Water Board (CGWB) report, the ground water has been over exploited andthe quality of drinking water has deteriorated causing health hazards.Therefore, it has been proposed to change water supply from ground to canalwater to ensure uninterrupted potable drinking water supply in the urban areas.
Giving the break up of the total estimated project cost of300 million US Dollars for the canal based water supply project at Amritsar andLudhiana, the spokesperson said that the entire project would be co-financed byIBRD (World Bank) Loan of 105 Million US Dollars and an Asian InfrastructureInvestment Bank (AIIB) loan of 105 Million US Dollars alongwith Government ofPunjab (GoP) funds to the tune of 90 Million US Dollars.
Pointing out further, the spokesperson said that in Amritsarproject, the source of surface water supply is Upper Bari Doab Canal andthereafter a 440 MLD (Million Litres per Day) Water Treatment Plant would beconstructed in village Vallah, Amritsar for treating the surface water. Aftertreatment, the clear water would be pumped to the Over Head Service Reservoirs(OHSR)which would further serve to the city residents to maintain continuoussupply of water.
The Infrastructure has been designed to meet the waterdemand for 30 years. It would benefit the residents of Amritsar with estimatedpopulation of 14.51 lakh for 2025 and 22.11 lakh for 2055.
At present, the Canal Based Water Supply Project forAmritsar has been awarded to M/s Larsen & Toubro Limited at a contractamount of Rs.784.33 Crore.
Likewise, the source of water supply in Ludhiana project isSirhind Canal and thereafter a 580 MLD (Million Litres per Day) Water TreatmentPlant would be constructed for treating the surface water. After treatment, theclear water would be pumped into the OHSR which would further cater to the cityresidents to maintain continuous supply of water.
The Infrastructure has been designed to meet the waterdemand for 30 years. It would benefit the residents of Ludhiana with estimatedpopulation of 20.76 lakh for 2025 and 29.35 lakh for 2055.
The total estimated Design Build Cost of Ludhiana Project isRs.1093.92 Crore and the period for completion of the same is 36 months. Theestimated Operation &Maintenance cost is Rs.270.73 Crore for 10 years. Thetotal amount for the project comes out to Rs.1364.65 Crore.
At present, in the Canal Based Water Supply Project forLudhiana, the Request for Proposal is under finalization and would be floatedshortly.