A high-level Telangana delegation is in South Korea studying an underground 250 MLD sewage treatment plant in Gwangmyeong as a possible model for the Musi rejuvenation project, according to a report published on 3 September 2026 by NewsMeter. The team was sent to Seoul on the directions of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and will file a feasibility report to the state government on its return.
The visit matters to wastewater plant operators and procurement leads because the delegation is specifically examining automated tertiary treatment, odour control, biogas-to-power, sludge handling, and the co-location of parks and sports facilities above a large underground works, the same technology choices a city-scale greenfield STP has to make anyway.
Key takeaways
- Telangana sent a five-officer delegation to Seoul, led by Water Board MD K. Ashok Reddy and MRDCL MD E.V. Narasimha Reddy, on the directions of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy (NewsMeter).
- The team inspected a 250 MLD underground sewage treatment plant in Gwangmyeong, including its automated tertiary treatment process, odour-control systems, biogas power generation and sludge management practices (NewsMeter).
- The same tour covered the Cheonggyecheon urban river restoration in Seoul, the Anyang Public Sewage Treatment Plant, the Han River corridor, the Godeok Public Wastewater Treatment Plant in Pyeongtaek, and a meeting with the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND) (NewsMeter).
- The Gwangmyeong plant is built entirely below grade, with the surface above developed as parks, playgrounds and sports facilities, freeing urban land and reducing odour exposure for nearby residents (NewsMeter).
- Officials will prepare a comprehensive report for the Telangana government on the feasibility of adopting the South Korean technologies and the technical measures required to implement them (NewsMeter).
What happened
On Wednesday, during the tour reported on 3 September 2026, the Telangana delegation inspected the 250 MLD underground sewage treatment plant in Gwangmyeong, South Korea, studying its automated tertiary treatment process, odour-control systems, sewage treatment operations, biogas-to-electricity use and environmentally sustainable sludge management, according to NewsMeter. The five-member team comprises Water Board MD K. Ashok Reddy, MRDCL MD E.V. Narasimha Reddy, Water Board CGM M. Sujatha, DGM J. Shiva and MRDCL EE Zakir Hussain, and left for Seoul on the directions of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.
The underground design lets a 250 MLD facility operate without consuming surface land; the area above the Gwangmyeong plant has been developed into parks, playgrounds and sports facilities for public use, NewsMeter reported, adding that officials examined the model's potential to cut land take and reduce odour complaints in surrounding residential areas while delivering environmental and urban-planning benefits.
The delegation also visited the Cheonggyecheon urban river restoration project, studying water-quality improvement, public riverfront design, wetland and habitat restoration using nature-based solutions, flood-resilient infrastructure, and long-term maintenance, according to NewsMeter. Still to come on the itinerary are the Anyang Public Sewage Treatment Plant, the Han River corridor in Seoul and the Godeok Public Wastewater Treatment Plant in Pyeongtaek, plus a high-level meeting with the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND).
On its return, the team is to prepare a comprehensive report for the Telangana government on the feasibility of adopting the South Korean technologies and the technical measures required to implement them, NewsMeter reported. No procurement award, contractor shortlist or contract value is reported.
Specification read
The reference plant in Gwangmyeong is rated at 250 MLD, which converts to 250,000 m³/day, with the source describing a full treatment train that includes automated tertiary treatment, dedicated odour control, and on-site biogas-to-power recovery from the sludge line (NewsMeter). A facility of that throughput in a dense Indian urban setting will typically run screening, grit removal, primary clarification, biological treatment (commonly A2O or MBR for tight effluent limits), tertiary polishing and disinfection before reuse or discharge (general industry range, not from the sources). The Telangana tour is concentrating on the underground civil-envelope approach, tertiary automation, odour control, and sludge-to-energy — i.e. the secondary/tertiary block and the residuals stream — rather than on the headworks. If your plant sits in the 50,000–250,000 m³/day band, handles municipal sewage with downstream reuse or river-discharge obligations, and is being asked to free surface land or cut neighbourhood odour, this is the procurement signal to watch: the buyer is benchmarking tertiary plus sludge handling, with a feasibility report due back to government before any tender is shaped.
Operators scoping a comparable upgrade should review the Integrated Sewage Treatment and Disinfection Equipment lines, and benchmark against the Municipal application hub.
FAQ
What capacity is the Telangana delegation benchmarking? The team inspected a 250 MLD (250,000 m³/day) underground sewage treatment plant in Gwangmyeong, South Korea, as the reference design for the Musi rejuvenation project (NewsMeter).
Which process stages are being studied for adoption in Telangana? The delegation is examining automated tertiary treatment, odour control, biogas-to-power generation, sludge management, and nature-based river restoration with flood-resilient infrastructure (NewsMeter).
What happens next after the study tour? Officials will prepare a comprehensive feasibility report for the Telangana government on whether to adopt the South Korean technologies and the technical measures required to implement them; no contract award is reported (NewsMeter).
What is a realistic lead time for an underground STP of this scale? The source does not cite a lead time. For a 250 MLD underground municipal STP, design-and-build programmes of roughly three to five years from award to commissioning are typical in the sector (general industry range, not from the sources).
