Delhi Jal Board Revives Rs 2,243-cr Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant Upgrade

Delhi Jal Board has revived its long-pending plan to upgrade the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant (WTP), proposing to decentralize the existing 120 MGD facility into two plants of 80 MGD and 40 MGD. The move comes with fresh tenders issued for the project, alongside a broader plan to modernize and expand the capital’s water infrastructure.

The upgrade will include construction of new clear water reservoirs and pumping stations, along with improvements to underground service reservoirs (UGRs), booster stations, and primary, secondary, and tertiary distribution pipelines. The project will also cover customer connections and installation of bulk and consumption meters to enhance supply efficiency and monitoring.

The project, originally approved in 2014 at a cost of Rs. 2,243 crore under the Delhi Water Supply Improvement Investment Programme, faced delays and funding setbacks after the Asian Development Bank withdrew support in 2019. The government is now working to revive funding and complete the long-delayed initiative to improve water supply for millions of residents.

The project cost has been revised to about Rs 2,574 crore, according to a Delhi Jal Board official. “The Delhi government is expecting to get around $200 million from ADB to help finance the investment programme, which will in turn support a slice of the GNCTD Water Supply Master Plan’s medium-term investment requirement,” the official said.

The Wazirabad WTP is one of Delhi’s largest facilities, supplying around 120 million gallons of water daily to several areas, including Burari, Model Town, Punjabi Bagh, Pitampura, and surrounding localities.