The Hindu Business Line : Krishna water for twin cities

For the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, it's almost a dream come true. At last, water from the mighty River Krishna will flow in their homes.

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB), which completed stage I of the first phase of the Krishna Drinking Water Supply Project (KDWSP), will start pumping 45 million gallons of the river water through its distribution channels in the twin cities every day from Thursday.

KDWSP was conceived more than two decades ago, but the pace of work increased only a year ago. The massive Rs 2,600-crore project, to be executed in three phases, envisages supply of 270 million gallons per day (MGD) of clear water to the requirement of the twin cities and neighbouring nine municipalities. While the entire phase I of the project, comprising two stages of implementation, is scheduled to be completed by 2005, phase II is envisaged to be completed by 2011; phase III is slated to be completed by 2021. In each phase, 90 MGD of water will be added to water supply system of HMWSSB.

The stage I of the first phase of the project has been estimated to cost Rs 1,000 crore, including interest charges during construction. However, the actual cost of stage I came down to Rs 820 crore due to receipt of tenders of lesser amount for various works and also on account of saving in cost of extension of power supply lines.

For the stage I, Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) had sanctioned a loan of Rs 350 crore while the State Government had granted Rs 300 crore. In addition, HMWSSB had raised Rs 350 crore through term loans and issue of bonds.

Incidentally, Crisil, which assigned "A/Stable" rating to the long-term debt programme of HMWSSB, stated that the board's revenue base was expected to be augmented following the execution of KDWSP stage I.

The phase I of the project includes various components such as off-take arrangements from Akkapalli Balancing Reservoir under Srisailam Left Bank Canal, raw water gravity main, Kodandapur water treatment plant, water reservoirs and five-stage transmission systems. In stage I, the pipelines are designed to transmit 90 MGD of treated water but with the capacity of water treatment plant and clear water pumping equipment limited to 45 MGD only. The stage II of the first phase will add another 45 MGD of treated water.

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