Treatment centre to clean Tukucha being built

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 7: A 15 million litre capacity water treatment centre is under construction to clean the Tukucha River flowing through the central part of Kathmandu and mix it with the Bagmati River. 

The water treatment centre is being built on 2.53 hectares of land located on the banks of the Bagmati River, Tripureshwor in Kathmandu and Kupandol River in Lalitpur.

Water of Tukucha River will be sent to the treatment centre, the water will be processed, and the clean water will be discharged into the Bagmati River. 

About 800 kilowatts of electricity will also be generated as a byproduct of the treatment centre.

Currently, the physical structure of the sewage treatment centre is being constructed on the Tripureshwor side. 

Due to obstacles from the locals, the construction of the structures on the Lalitpur side has not yet begun. 

Only the power generation structure will remain on the Lalitpur side. The main sewage treatment structure is under construction on the Tripureshwor side.

The overall physical and financial progress of the construction is 20 per cent. Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Transport and Urban Development Kul Man Ghising inspected the under-construction processing center on Saturday and received the information of the construction progress. 

According to his secretariat, Minister Ghising had discussed the construction completion schedule, problems being faced, and policy decisions to be taken to resolve the issues with project management, consultants, and contractors involved in the construction.

He directed the concerned bodies to proceed with the construction work accordingly as work can be done from all parts of the construction site at present.

Stating that the construction had been delayed due to the fact that it took about two years to remove the trees at the construction site and the obstacles faced by locals towards Lalitpur, Minister Ghising said that the construction should now be accelerated.

Minister Ghising said that the government is working to clean the Bagmati River by giving high priority to the management of its tributaries and river banks. 

The construction entrepreneurs were committed to completing the structures towards Tripureshwor within the stipulated time. 

The cost of the processing centre, which is being built with a concessional loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Bagmati River Basin Strengthening Project, is Rs. 3.18 billion. 

The contract for the construction of the centre was signed in June 2022.

The completion of the centre, including the extension of the deadline, is scheduled for December 2026.