Kathmandu, October 5:

The Melamchi Water Development Committee (MWDC), the government body which operates the Melamchi Drinking Water Project, is going to spend Rs 765 million this year to accomplish the project.

The Rs 33.9-billion project is planning to bring a total of 170 million liters of water per day in the capital from the Valley of Melamchi after constructing a 26.5 km tunnel.

“The pre-qualification has been done for the tunnel construction and the rest process is going on. The issue will be finalised within eight or nine months of this fiscal year,” said Hariram Koirala, the executive director of the MWDC, talking with the media persons today.

He also said that the handover of the Nepal Water Supply Corporation would take some more months as the new provision has allowed the government to take time till January and the handover of the institution from the government to semi-government body will naturally take some time.

“At present the corporation’s details of assets is at the cabinet for the final decision,” he added.

He further said that the project itself has completed only 18 per cent of the total project, but, in practice, it has made landmark progress in the project’s development. The tender for construction of the tunnel will be opened in November and at present, meetings are going on with consultants of Upgrade Access Road.

The committee expects to complete the project by 2011.