Jusco, Voltas bag Sector-V water, sewage contract

A tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the government of West Bengal, Jusco, the utilities and services subsidiary of Tata Steel, and Voltas at Writers Buildings in Kolkata for development of the sewerage and water supply system in Salt Lake's Sector-V, the zone which houses most of the information technology sector units in West Bengal.

This is the first such BOT project in the country in the water sector where a public private partnership (PPP) model has been adopted for development and subsequent maintenance of water and sewage infrastructure for 30 years.

The agreement was) signed by S A Ahmed, chairman, Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA and B R Baviskar, chief executive officer, Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) on behalf of the West Bengal government and Sanjiv Paul, managing director of JUSCO, and a chief manager (projects) of Voltas.

Sector-V in Salt Lake (Bidhannagar) was spread over 300 acres. KMDA was authorized by the West Bengal government has drawn up a plan for development of basic infrastructure and services for Salt Lake (Bidhannagar) Sector V. The plan provides for underground network of water supply and sewerage facilities. KMDA intends to develop the proposed facilities through public private partnership.

The bid was made by JUSCO and Voltas jointly and was selected on competitive basis. The total value of the project is estimated to be Rs 59 crore excluding the land cost. Land would be provided free and 35 per cent of the cost would be funded by the government of India under JNNURM.