MIRPURKHAS, March 9: Work on a large reverse osmosis plant at Nabisar was under way to turn brackish water into potable water and supply it to a power plant run by the Thar coal project, said sources in the irrigation department on Friday.

The sources said the government had launched the project at a cost of Rs5 billion to supply 36 cusecs potable water every day to the power plant.

The sources said the department would dig two channels, each 28 feet wide and 16 miles long, between Silore Mori near Jhuddo and Nabisar and install a big pumping station at Silore Mori (RD 362) to lift saline water from the LBOD drain and discharge it into the new channel that would carry the water to Nabisar.

About 20 units of reverse osmosis plants would be set up to change saline water into potable water. About 35 per cent treated water would be supplied to the power plant and the remaining 65 per cent water would be released back into the other channel that would carry it back to the LBOD drain, said the sources.

The sources said that water reservoirs with a capacity to store 20 million gallons water would also be built at Nabisar and a grid station would be set up to run the project.

The project would be completed within a year.—BoC