Financing Agreements Signed for Digha & Kankarbagh Sewage Projects in Patna, BiharFinancing Agreements Signed for Digha & Kankarbagh Sewage Projects in Patna, Bihar

Financing agreements for developing STPs and Sewerage network for Digha and Kankarbagh zones of Patna were signed between DK Sewage Project Pvt Ltd (a subsidiary of VA Tech Wahagh) and PFS. The scope of the project includes development of Sewage Treatment Plants of 150 MLD capacity along with sewerage network of over 453 km in the Digha and Kankarbagh zones of Patna, one of the most populous cities on the banks of the river Ganga. This is the first of its kind project which comprises of a mix of Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (‘DBOT’) scope and Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) scope.

With the implementation of Digha and Kankarbagh sewerage projects all the sewage zones of Patna city will be covered with sewerage network and sewage treatment capacity to achieve the objective of the NamamiGange program of preventing any untreated waste water entering the river Ganga.The capacity of Digha STP will be 100 MLD and Kankarbagh STP will be 50 MLD. PFS has agreed to fund Rs 85.84 Cr for development of STPs in the form of long-term debt. This is the second project financed by PFS under the HAM model of development. An earlier one was the Prayagraj sewerage scheme under the One City- One Operator concept through HAM.

The 453 Kms of sewage network in the project is to be laid in DBOT model wherein 100% of the contractual payment will be made during the construction period. On the contrary, for development of STPs under HAM, 40% of construction cost will be paid during the construction period of 24 months and the balance 60% will be paid as quarterly annuities along with interest and Operation & Maintenance (O &M), cost during the 15-year operation period.  DKSPPL will be responsible for the entire development and operation of both sewerage network and STPs for 15 years of the concession period. The payment during operations period will be subject to achievement of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in terms of treated waste water quality for the STPs.

Under the NamamiGange programme, in Patna, 11 sewerage schemes for development of sewage treatment capacity of 350 MLD along with laying of 1140.3 km sewerage network has been taken up at a total cost of Rs 3237 Cr. STP projects in Beur (43 MLD) and Karmalichak (37 MLD) are completed and were inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister in 2020. Another STP project at Saidpur (60 MLD) and adjoining network has been completed recently. STP projects are also sanctioned in adjoining towns of Patna namely Danapur, PhulwariSariff and Fatuha.

The Agreements were signed in the presence of Shri Pankaj Kumar, Secretary, Jal Shakti Ministry, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, DG, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and Shri Ashok Kumar Singh, ED(Projects), NMCG. Other dignitaries who witnessed the event include Shri Pawan Singh, MD, Power Trading Corporation, India Financial Services and Shri Raman Kumar, MD, BUIDCO.