It took two decades to reach Melamchi water to Kathmandu valley

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari today inaugurated Melamchi Water Supply Project, the most awaited project by Kathmandu denizens since more than 20 years, by opening the tap at a programme at Brikutimandap in Kathmandu. The tap water was supplied through facilities of the Melamchi Water Supply Project, according to a press note by JICA.

JICA has been one of the major development partners of Nepal to implement the Melamchi Water Supply Project by constructing the 85 million litter par day (MLD ) Water Treatment Plant (WTP) at Sundarijal, the press note reads, adding that since March 2001, with signing the Loan Agreement amounted 5.49 billion JPY between the government and JBIC1, to construct the WTP, the project faced several disruption until it was substantially completed in December 2017. Even after its substantial completion, the Water Treatment Plant had been awaiting the water from melamchi diversion tunnel for its full operation. "The Water Treatment Plant is the largest water treatment plant in the country equipped with modern technology and database system." 

Components like SCADA system are some of the salient features of the Water Treatment Plant.

Completion of major infrastructure of the project would bring additional 170 MLD water to Kathmandu valley. Since current supply of water is considered 91 MLD in average considering the loss, the Melamchi Project will dramatically improve water supply in Kathmandu Valley with fulling the huge gap of water supply services provided by the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL), the sole water utility of the capital city.

President Bhandari inaugurating the project at the presence of high dignitaries from government agencies, development partners including chief representative Yumiko Asakuma, remembered the then Prime Minister Krishna Prasad BHattarai, who pushed the project to implementation.

Not only the financial support to construct facilities, JICA is providing technical support in strengthening the capacity of KUKL in order to effectively operate and maintain the newly constructed facilities of the Melamchi Water Supply Project.

JICA asserts its firm belief that with strong and self-reliant leadership of Nepal, the water supply sector of the country will observe significant improvement, and it commits its continuous support for social development sector of Nepal.