Tata Group company Jusco bags Mysore city water supply project

Tata Steel's wholly-owned subsidiary Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company (Jusco) has signed a Rs152-crore water supply and management contract for Mysore city. A tripartite agreement for the six-year performance-based contract was signed by Jusco, Mysore City Corporation (MCC) and the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB).

''This is the largest water supply project being executed through public private partnership (PPP) model in India. All similar water supply projects undertaken till date have been pilot projects targeting part of the city (population of less than one lakh), whereas this is the first city-wide project which will serve a population of more than a million,'' the company said in a press release.

The project will distribute water from the Cauvery river, treated at its Hongalli and Melapur treatment plants, to consumers over a 1,200 km network, from 28 small and large reservoirs.

Water supply will be gradually increased to 24 hours a day with service level guarantees commensurate with national and international benchmarks as stipulated in the contract agreement, the release said.

Jusco has won the project against stiff competition from Larsen and Toubro, Jain Irrigation Projects and the joint venture of Ranhill Utilities Berhad, Mayasia and SPML.

The project will utilise the already sanctioned funds (80 per cent of the project cost) under the centre's Jawaharlal Nehru urban renewal mission for improving the water supply infrastructure in Mysore city. The balance funding would be provided equally by the government of Karnataka and MCC.

The project will be completed in three phases spread over six years. The first phase of twelve months will involve complete hydraulic remodeling of the present system and preparation of capital investment plan. In the second phase of three years, Jusco will rehabilitate the distribution network to reduce water losses and gradually increase various service standards. The third and final phase of two years will involve providing 24x7 water supply in the entire city ensuring sustainability of achieved service standards, the release said.

With its experience of managing water service in Jamshedpur city for over nine decades, Jusco hopes to be the Tata vehicle in the emerging water sector in the country.

The Mysore project is the third consecutive major water project the company has won - the other two are both BOT projects in Salt Lake Sector-V, Kolkata and the industrial city of Haldia.