The Project Implementation Directorate under the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) is building three water treatment plants to process filthy water flowing into the Valley’s river system. 

The water processing plants will be built under its own water treatment plant reconstruction and expansion project with the loan assistance of the Asian Development Bank. 

In the first phase, the directorate will be working on two packages—improvement and capacity enhancement of the existing water treatment plant at Guheshwori and building of the treatment plants at Sallaghari, Kodku and Dhobighat areas. 

The plant at Sallaghari will have the processing capacity of 14.2 million litres of water a day, the plant at Kodku will process 17.5 litres and the one to be set up at Dhobighat—the largest of the three—will have the treatment capacity of 37 million litres of water a day. 

The existing plant at Guheshowri processes 34 million litres of water a day. 

An Indian company was awarded a contract for improving and upgradation of the Guheshwori treatment plant last year. 

On January 17 this year, the government signed a deal with Chinese company Shanghai Safbon Water Service Company Limited to build the other three treatment plants. 

As per the contract paper, construction of all three plants should be completed by 30 months. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs6 billion.