KATHMANDU, Dec 6: A processing plant with the capacity to treat 15 million litres of water per day is under construction to clean the Tukucha rivulet, which flows through central Kathmandu, before discharging the treated water into the Bagmati River.
The treatment centre is being built across 2.53 hectares at Tripureshwor in Kathmandu and Kupandol in Lalitpur. Constructed under the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded Bagmati River Basin Improvement Project, the facility is being built at a cost of Rs 3.18 billion through a concessional loan.
Ring Road cleanup campaign begins from Saturday
Construction of the plant is targeted for completion by mid-December next year. Once operational, the Tukucha stream will be diverted to the centre for treatment and then released into the Bagmati.
According to the private secretariat of Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Transport, and Urban Development, Kulman Ghising, the processing centre will also generate 800 kilowatts of electricity as a by-product.
Currently, physical structures of the sewage treatment plant on the Tripureshwor side are under construction. However, construction in Lalitpur has been halted due to local obstruction. Only the electricity-generating structures will be built in Lalitpur, while the main sewage treatment structures are being constructed in Tripureshwor.
Minister Ghising inspected the under-construction facility today and reviewed the progress of the project. During the visit, he held discussions with project managers, consultants, and contractors regarding the construction timeline, existing challenges, and required policy-level decisions.
On the occasion, the minister said the government is prioritising the management of tributaries and riverbanks to accelerate the cleanup of the Bagmati River. The project contractor has also committed to completing the Tripureshwor-side structures within the stipulated timeframe.
