An Italian leader in sustainable technology has been selected to provide water purification equipment for a project to upgrade the supply in Mandalay’s Pyigyitagon Township, it said in a news release on February 6.
Milan-based De Nora Water Technologies said it will be supplying a electrochlorination system for the project, which will benefit about 60,000 households in the township on Mandalay city’s southern outskirts.
The water supply in the township is being upgraded under an agreement signed in September 2016 by Japan’s Tobishima Corporation and the government worth ¥1.797 billion, (about US$16.5 million at current exchange rates).
Work on the project, involving the installation of new pipes, wells, tanks, pumps and water meters, began in October and is due to be completed in July. The project is being supported by Japan’s overseas aid agency, JICA.
De Nora said its electrochlorination system offers a safer alternative to the traditional gas chlorination method, which involves the use of hazardous chemicals such as high-pressure chlorine.
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“De Nora has been continuously recognized for its leading industry innovation in water treatment, and being entrusted by Tobishima Corporation and the government of Myanmar to be part of this momentous project further reinforces our ability to deliver solutions for a safe and sustainable supply of clean water,” said Mr Vincenzo Palma, the company’s regional sales director, Asia Pacific.
Palma said De Nora’s electrochlorination system had been used in Japan for more than 40 years.
The release said an increasing number of countries were using electrochlorination for municipal water supply systems because of the potential health hazards and increasingly strict laws over the use of gas chlorination.