Alandur Case Study

Alandur STP (www.wabag.com)

The STP at Alandur discharges the effluent in to the Adyar River and the sludge to an open dumping site at Palliakaranai (Alandur Sewerage Project: A Success Story of PPP Arrangements by Dr. Mukesh P Mathur). As far as current status goes, the project which included the construction of the STP, pumping station and the piping network was completed by the end of 2001. The 23,000 households that paid for the connection were split and categorized into phases to be connected to the sewer system. This includes  43% of the slum dwellers who opted to pay for separate sewer connections to their houses. As of today, 100% of the community is not connected to the sewer system yet. This is due to two main reasons: (1) the number of households that were willing to pay to be connected to the underground sewer system increased with increase in time, and (2) some of the households have not connected their septic systems to the main sewer, which is regarded as the responsibility of the house owner by the municipality. The O&M of the piping system is overseen by the City ever since the expiry of the contract in 2005. The STP contract with the private sector will expire in 2019.

Alandur STP (www.wabag.com)

The VfM analysis provided at http://toolkit.pppinindia.com/solid-waste-management/module3-rocs-asp7.php?links=asp7 gives a brief overview of why this particular project has been successful so far. For instance, the graded monthly sewerage fee collected by the municipality covers both the debt repayment and the O&M costs. Also, the detailed studies performed by the municipality prior to bidding, reduced any potential for scope creep. This in combination with the payment assurance by the municipality was one of the factors that enabled the successful implementation and operation of this project.