$250m ADB loan to improve surface water supply in city

FE Report | Published: April 25, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) would provide US$ 250 million worth of loan for improving the surface water supply in Dhaka metropolitan city as it signed a deal with the government to this effect Thursday.
Economic Relations Division (ERD) secretary Mohammad Mejbahuddin and the newly-appointed ADB country director in Bangladesh Kazuhiko Higuchi signed the agreement in the city on behalf of their respective sides.
The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) will set up a raw water intake plant with a capacity of 2,000 million litres a day (MLD) and a 1,000 MLD capacity water treatment plant for supplying drinking water from the Meghna River at a cost of $675 million.
Out of the cost, the ADB will provide $250 million worth of fund, the Bangladesh government $225 million, the European Investment Bank $100 million and French lender AFD another $100 million for setting up the water treatment plant and its supply system by 2019.
The concessional loan of the ADB will help expand the coverage and quality of water supplies, and develop a new raw water intake at the Meghna River, about 22 kilometres east of Dhaka city, as well as a pumping station.
The loan will also fund a water treatment plant capable of handling 500 MLD, at Gandharbpur and install raw and treated water transmission pipelines.
DWASA Managing Director Engr Taqsem A Khan said the $675 million Dhaka Environmentally Sustainable Water Supply Project was expected to reduce groundwater extraction by 150 MLD and help them to raise overall surface water supply to 1.9 billion litres a day by 2021.
"Dhaka needs more water for its booming population. This assistance will support Dhaka's water authority to improve facilities, and tap a new surface water source to help conserve precious groundwater sources of the city," Mr Higuchi said.
Mr Khan said DWASA plans to reduce the dependence on groundwater to about 30 per cent of the total water supply by 2021, from the current 78 per cent to ensure environmentally sustainable water supply.
Dhaka has been drawing groundwater heavily but the current rate of extraction is no longer sustainable with the water table falling by 2-3 metres a year. In addition, the Sitalakhya River - the city's main source of surface water - is becoming increasingly polluted.
Most people living in informal settlements rely on supply from illegal water lines for which they pay high charges.
The ADB-funded project will set up community-based organisations to help poor households obtain water through legal metered connections at a lower price.
The groups will be responsible for paying water bills and maintaining supply points while public awareness programmes will improve community knowledge on water quality and public hygiene, DWASA officials said.