24 x 7 water supply to South Goa in the pipeline

The Goa government’s wish of providing water supply 24x7 to entire South Goa drew closer to reality.The PWD has prequalified five consulting firms for the Rs 1031 crore Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) project that involves the augmentation of the Selaulim water facility and sewerage projects in Margao, Mapusa and Calangute.The PWD principal chief engineer A M Wachasundar said after chairing a meeting of the project implementation unit on Monday that JICA has already approved the “request for proposal” (RFP) that specifies the consultant’s scope of work, payment terms, time duration, etc. Accordingly, a pre-bid conference will be held on December 21 and the project management consultants (PMC) tenders will be opened on December 22, 2008.Wachasundar said after the technical evaluation and financial bid opening, one project management consultant will be finalised by the end of the financial year and the actual work will begin by April 2009. Expressions of Interest had been received from nine agencies in May 2008, from which the PWD has now pre-qualified five.Other related works which were agreed between JICA and the government of Goa without the requirement of the project management consultant are being finalised and will be tendered within this financial year. These works include construction of reservoirs, replacement of faulty water meters with heavy duty water meters, installation of flow meters at strategic points, etc., Wachasundar said. When asked if the project had been delayed, the principal chief engineer said not to that extent. He said the PWD minister Churchill Alemao is keen in starting the work at the earliest and accordingly the project implementation unit, chaired by the principal chief engineer and comprising other senior engineers, meets periodically to expedite the Rs 1031 crore JICA project.Besides sewerage systems for Margao, Mapusa and Calangute-Baga, the project includes augmenting the 160 MLD (million litres per day) Salaulim water supply scheme by another 200 MLD in two phases. Besides, the project also envisages the construction of three sewerage systems; one each for Margao, Mapusa and the north Goa coastal belt of Calangute-Baga. After the augmentation of Salaulim, there are plans to have 24 x 7 (24 hours 7 days a week) water supply for South Goa as the augmentation will help meet the present shortfall in domestic, industrial and commercial sectors. According to sources in PWD, phase 1 will include construction of a 100 MLD treatment plant including sub-station, pumping installation and treatment plant. Water will be conveyed to Margao and Verna master balancing reservoir through a new pipeline. The cost of phase one is estimated to be around Rs 550-crore. The second phase of the Salaulim augmentation– a second 100 MLD water treatment plant - will be taken up after 2015. The second phase of the Salaulim augmentation will benefit the Opa water supply scheme, that is, the talukas of Ponda and Tiswaddi. The demand in these two talukas is also going up and there is no chance of augmenting the Opa water supply scheme otherwise, sources said.Under the JICA project, Margao town will get another 7-MLD sewage treatment plant in addition to the existing 7-MLD sewage plant. The Margao project will have a sewer pipeline network extending to about 18 kilometres, it will cover an area of 250 hectare and will benefit a population of 45,000. The Margao sewerage project is estimated to cost Rs 150-crore. The sewage treatment plant at Mapusa will be 6-MLD in capacity and will cover the main town. It will cover an area of 200 hectare and will cost Rs 80-crore.The 6 MLD (million litres per day) sewerage treatment plant, planned to be constructed at Baga, will alleviate the problem by covering an area of 400 hectares in Baga and Calangute. The sewer line network will extend to a total length of about 45 kilometres. The project will benefit a population of 24,000. But considering the touristic importance of Baga, the sewerage treatment plant will be build with aesthetics in mind. The PWD sources said it will have a special design and will be surrounded by garden and fountains. The Baga-Calangute project alone will cost about Rs 70-crore.