TWAD allocates `49 crore to supply Cauvery water for Manapparai Sipcot

Trichy: The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board has allocated ` 49 crore to establish a water supply network for the Sipcot industrial park in Manapparai, Trichy district. The lack of a reliable water source had been a hurdle for attracting investments, but this new infrastructure is expected to boost demand for land in the industrial park by ensuring an uninterrupted supply of Cauvery water.
The TWAD Board announced that a major borewell would be drilled near Perugamani in Trichy district, with around 7 MLD (Million Litres per Day) of Cauvery water supplied to the industrial park, located 40 km away.“A dedicated wing in Thanjavur is overseeing the project, and a tender has been floated,” a TWAD Board official said.

Due to the absence of a major river in Manapparai, some investors had been hesitant to commit to the 1,096-acre industrial park. To address immediate water needs, Sipcot has temporarily arranged to receive 2.5 MLD of water from the Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Paper Limited (TNPL) factory near Manapparai. The permanent Cauvery water supply is expected to be commissioned in 18 months, with the temporary supply from TNPL set to be operational within a month, as 8.6 km of pipeline has already been installed.
“Investors have expressed the need for a permanent water source, such as Cauvery water, over temporary solutions. With the TWAD Board’s funding, demand for industrial plots in Sipcot Manapparai will likely rise,” a Sipcot official stated. About 50% of the industrial land has already been reserved, with investors from the dairy, beverages, and engineering sectors starting construction using domestic water sources available within the park, which can provide up to 2.5 lakh litres of water per day.