Odisha's first-ever seawater desalination plant has been inaugurated in the village of Matikhal in the Ganjam district. 

The plant was built by Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) using technology from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). It has a capacity of 4.5 million liters per day (MLD) and was constructed at a cost of Rs 135 crore. 

The plant will provide clean drinking water to the villages of Matikhal and Arjeepali, addressing the long-standing issue of high groundwater salinity in the coastal region.

In the first phase, water will be supplied to Matikhal and Aryapalli at just 11 paisa per litre. He noted this is likely Odisha’s first facility to transform seawater into drinking water, drawing parallels to large-scale desalination in Israel.

IREL, a key strategic sector PSU, has been engaged in rare earth development for over four decades.