Vijay lays foundation stone for Chennai’s ₹3,108 crore water project, promises a more reliable supply
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has laid the foundation stone for a ₹3,108.55 crore water infrastructure project designed to improve drinking water distribution across Chennai.
The circular pipeline network, to be developed by Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Metrowater) with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), aims to provide a more resilient and dependable water supply by connecting treatment plants, desalination facilities and distribution stations.
At present, Chennai’s water treatment plants largely supply designated areas through separate trunk pipelines. The absence of an interconnected system can make it difficult to redirect water when a particular plant or source experiences an outage. The proposed ring main network is intended to overcome this limitation by allowing water to be transferred between different parts of the system.
The project will connect nine treatment and desalination plants, including the 400 million litres per day (MLD) desalination facility under construction at Perur.
The proposed infrastructure includes 91.2 km of new ring main pipelines, 64.2 km of transmission pipelines and 2.65 km of pumping mains. Including existing sections, the ring main network will extend to 97.9 km, with pipeline diameters ranging from 1,200 mm to 2,000 mm.
Additional facilities will include seven new underground storage tanks, the replacement of pumps at seven clear water pumping stations and the construction of eight surge tanks. These upgrades are expected to improve water storage, pumping efficiency and pressure regulation across the distribution system.
Metrowater officials have also said that a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system will be installed. The technology will enable real-time monitoring of water flow, pressure and quality, helping officials identify disruptions and respond more quickly.
Chennai currently supplies approximately 1,260 MLD of drinking water to a population of around 91 lakh through 143 distribution stations.
The ring main project was initially announced in the Tamil Nadu Budget for 2025–26, with an allocation of ₹2,423 crore. The project’s scope and estimated expenditure have subsequently been revised to ₹3,108.55 crore.
Once completed, the interconnected network is expected to give the city greater flexibility in managing disruptions and maintaining water supplies across its growing urban population.