In July 2022, The Times of India reported that Chennai Metrowater's 400 MLD (400,000 m³/day) desalination plant at Perur near Nemmeli had yet to materialise. According to a Right to Information (RTI) reply, no contractor had been chosen two years after tenders were called in October 2020. The Japan-funded project, worth about 6,000 crore rupees, was to serve about 2.2 million people in the south of the city. A Metrowater official attributed the delay to clarifications sought by JICA on registration costs; technical bids had just been opened.
The report shows how long a large, internationally funded desalination project could take between tender and award when every stage required approval from the utility, the government and the lender.
Source: The Times of India