Mumbai's first desalination plant worth ₹ 1,600 crore to be at Manori; work order soon

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) desalination plant project is going to be set up at Manori and the work order is likely to be issued by August, municipal commissioner and administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal told Times of India.

The tender is currently being finalised, and bids will be invited on an international competitive basis.

The plant is expected to be functional in the next four years and will process 200 million litres of water per day (MLD). It is estimated to cost Rs 1,600 crore and maintenance for the next 20 years will cost another Rs 1,920 crore.

The project has been undertaken to develop an alternative water source for the city due to changing patterns of rainfall.

For the project, a provision of Rs 200 crore for 2023–2024 was suggested during the recent civic budget presentation.

BMC earmarks 12 hectares for the plant

The BMC has earmarked 12 hectares for the plant. The project was first mooted in 2007 after a State Government-appointed high-level committee suggested setting up desalination plants in Mumbai. The BMC had initiated the process to set up two such plants – one in south Mumbai and another in the western suburbs in 2016.

However, the proposal was cancelled due to high cost and land issues. It was revived in October 2020 when former Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray showed interest in the project.