JBIC drinking water project work to begin on Mar 27

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 25: After mired in controversies for nearly a decade, the work on the Rs 2,600 crore drinking water project in Kerala, funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), will begin on March 27.

State Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran told newspersons here that Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan would inaugurate the work for the project that would benefit 4.1 million people in the state.

The mega water supply project, consisting of five schemes in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Cherthala, Kozhikode city and Kannur, would have to be completed by October next year as per the agreement, he added.

He said a coordination of various departments was needed for the completion of the project in a time-bound manner.

Though the scheme was envisaged in 1997, it was delayed due to controversies over the appointment of consultancies for the project.

UNI