The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the state governments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have awarded work to private sector for construction and maintenance of Sewage Treatment Plants in two major cities in Ganga river, Varanasi and Haridwar. The awarded projects will ensure that no untreated sewage waste water goes into river Ganga.

The consultative meetings and conferences with market players have attracted a big amount of participants.Over 30 firms have shown for pre-bid meetings of Varanasi and Haridwar projects.

The Haridwar project which is located in Uttarakhand involves a 82 MLD treatment plant, while the Varanasi plant, located in Uttar Pradesh, will process a maximum capacity of 50 MLD. Currently, the sewage disposal is being pushed into the river without any treatment mechanism and it  has become a major source of pollution in the Ganga river.

The creation and maintenance of sewage treatment infrastructure will be held under a Hybrid Annuity based PPP model.

Under the Hybrid Annuity-PPP model, 40% of the capital cost will be paid on completion of construction while the remaining 60% of the cost will be paid over the life of the project as annuities along with operation and maintenance cost expenses. Following the same scheme, the development, operation and maintenance of the sewage treatment  plants will be launched by a Special Purpose Vehicle to be created by the winning bidder at the local level.