Odisha involves private sector in water supply

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar, Oct 27: In a first of kind in Odisha, the State Government on Monday signed a concession agreement with a private sector player for a bulk water supply project in Bhubaneswar and nearby areas.On completion, the project will supply water to renowned institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar and National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER); industrial establishments like Infocity-II; Sea Food Park at Deras as well as to the towns of Khurda and Jatani.According to an official release issued by the State Government, the agreement was signed between Public Health Engineering Organisation (Urban) and a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed by consortium of Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited (MIL) and Koya & Company Construction Limited in presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.The project has been awarded on DBFOT (design-build-finance-operate-transfer) basis for a period of 25 years.Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister appreciated the effort of Housing & Urban Development Department in grounding a complex PPP project involving multiple beneficiaries.