Water crisis in Chittagong city is likely to persist for an indefinite period due to slow progress in construction of the Karnafully water treatment plant by CWASA, sources said.
Against the demand for 500 million litres per day the water supply authority is currently supplying only 250 million litres under rationing system.
A Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage authority (CWASA) official said in solving drinking water crisis the Karnafully water treatment plant with a capacity to produce 140 million litres of water was undertaken. The construction of the plant was due to be completed this year. But it is likely to be completed by June next year.
The official said CNTIC-Beijing Sound Environmental Engineering Company (BSEEC), a Chinese joint venture company was assigned to construct the project by the middle of the current year.
He said the CNTIC-BSEEC JV firm has already missed the deadline.
Another official said the Chinese joint venture company wasted time in completing the project. As a result the existing water crisis is likely to persist for long time in the CWASA areas.
Eng AKM Fazlullah, managing director of the CWASA said, "The joint venture Chinese company has sought time extension it till August 2015 but we are planning to extend till June next year."
He said, "We are supplying water under rationing system as a result people under CWASA do not get water as per their requirements in a day."
The CWASA authority awarded the Tk16 billion treatment plant's construction job to the Chinese joint venture company and they started work in the year 2011 aiming to complete it by the middle of the current year. But the firm's progress was poor and it did not work for a long time.
The treatment plant site has been selected at Pomra of Rangunia so that water from the Karnafully river can be drawn for treatment.
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