50-MGD plant to meet IGI’s rising

The IGI Airport will soon need Delhi Jal Board’s (DJB) help to augment water supply at the airport. According to estimates, by the time the new integrated terminal is ready by 2010, the water needs of the airport will go up from the current 14 million litres per day (MLD) to over 20 mld. To meet this demand, DJB is taking up a major project to connect the airport to its supply system.

According to Arun Mathur, CEO, DJB, a 50 million gallons per day water treatment plant at Dwarka is under process of being tendered out that will meet demand of the airport, the commercial area and hotels coming up there.

IGI Airport meets its fresh water demand by bore wells at present. It uses recycled water from a 5 MLD sewage treatment (STP) plant for horticultural purposes. However, as the airport area is fast expanding, the airport management felt that it would no longer be self sufficient in terms of its sewage management or water supply. ‘‘For the past many years we have been able to make do with the bore well supply. But operations will increase manifold by 2010 and we would require much more water. Exact plans are not in place as yet but DJB will take over the supply by the time the new terminal is in operation,’’ said Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL) spokesperson Arun Arora.

To deal with the sewage, a 10 MLD STP will be in place by 2010. ‘‘With a total capacity of 15 MLD then, we are looking at a zero discharge facility,’’ added Arora. Also, another STP at Kapas Hera, that is necessary to control flooding at the site of the new runway, has been cleared.