Kathmandu, March 30
Nepal’s government is preparing to expand its flagship Melamchi Drinking Water Project to meet the demands of a growing Kathmandu.
As the$464 million project, under which a 26-km-long tunnel is being dug in the north-eastern part of the city, nears its completion, authorities hope to supply water from the Melamchi river to households in Kathmandu by October this year. The project, which is years behind its schedule, will not, however, stop there.
The government will add water from two more rivers to the pipeline set-up for the project.
When the first stage of the Melamchi projects is completed, an estimated 170 million litres of water will be available for use in Kathmandu every day. When the extensions of the project are completed and water from Yangri and Larke rivers is added to the supply, the amount will reach up to 510 million litres, says project chief Ghanashyam Bhattarai.
The extensions are estimated to come with a price tag of Rs 31 billion. The Asian Development Bank, which has financed the Melamchi Project, has shown willingness to invest again in the extensions.
According to officials involved in the proposed extensions, the projects’ designs are being prepared. “We will finish the design within a year. The government will then allocate budget for it,” says Bhattarai, adding that some of the budget could come from the ADB.
According to Bhattarai, it will take four years for the tunnels to come into operation.
