CM Vijay lays foundation for ₹3,108 crore water ring-main pipeline in Chennai

14-10-2026 · English

Topics: Tamil Nadu · 14 October 2026 Current Affairs (UPSC / TNPSC / SSC / RRB)

News

CM C. Joseph Vijay laid the foundation stone at Sholinganallur on 14 Oct 2026 for a ₹3,108.55 crore 'ring main' that will link all of Chennai's drinking-water sources in one loop. Implemented by the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), about 98 km of stainless-steel pipe will connect 9 sources – the Poondi, Puzhal, Cholavaram and Chembarambakkam lakes, groundwater and desalination plants. Surplus water from one area can then be moved to an area facing shortage. It is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and due in about 4½ years.

Key facts

Background

• Chennai's desalination plants: Minjur (100 MLD, 2010), Nemmeli-I (100 MLD, 2013), Nemmeli-II (150 MLD, 2024); a 400 MLD plant at Perur is under construction – among the country's largest.
• Asian Development Bank (ADB): founded 1966; HQ Manila, Philippines. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is in Beijing; the New Development Bank (NDB) in Shanghai.
• CMWSSB was set up under a 1978 Act. 1 MLD = one million litres a day. Chennai also gets Telugu Ganga (Krishna) and Veeranam (Cauvery) water.

Tamil Nadu link: about 85.7 lakh people in metro Chennai get roughly 1,200 MLD a day through 84 distribution systems. In the severe 2019 drought, water was brought to Chennai by train from Jolarpettai.

Source: Daily Thanthi, Maalaimalar, 14 Oct 2026; IANS (ADB loan, Aug 2026); WaterToday

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