Chhatrapur: Seawater will soon be converted into fresh water in Ganjam district as the district administration has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) to establish a desalination plant, the first of its kind in the state.
Ganjam District Collector Dibyajyoti Parida, IREL General Manager CVR Murthy, and Berhampur RWSS Executive Engineer Bikash Kumar Pati were present during the signing of the MoU Friday. The plant will provide fresh water to the residents of Ganjam.
It will be set up within the IREL plant premises and is expected to be completed within a year. In the initial phase, two villages–Aryapalli and Matikhala–will receive the desalinated water.
IREL and RWSS will jointly supply 1.5 MLD (million litres per day) of potable water. This will help alleviate the region’s water scarcity during the summer season. Around 1,500 to 2,000 families are expected to benefit from the project.
Further expansion will depend on project estimates, the District Collector said. Once the plant is established, pipelines will be laid along with the construction of pumping stations and overhead tanks.
The tendering process will be completed soon and work will commence shortly, he added. Currently, no such project exists along Odisha’s 480-km coastline.
The project is expected to serve as a model for the East Coast, providing potable water for both industrial and general use, IREL General Manager Murthy said.
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