CPA opens own water treatment plant

Our Correspondent | Published: March 22, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

CHITTAGONG, Mar 21: The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has set up a surface water treatment plant in the port area to meet the increasing demand here.
The CPA has set up the Desalination and Water Treatment Plant at a cost of Tk 239.75 million (23.975 crore) to purify 8,800 tonnes of water daily.
Construction work on the plant started in February 2014 and the CPA completed it in just 12 months.
Minster for Shipping Shajahan Khan inaugurated the plant on Saturday afternoon as chief guest. Shipping secretary Shafique Alam Mehdi was present as special guest.
Mr Shajahan Khan said the port authority set a milestone by setting up the water treatment plant as it needs to supply a large quantity of water to the vessels calling at the port.
The Chittagong Port handles 92 per cent of the country's total imports and exports and more than 3,000 ships call at the prime maritime port annually.
The minister said that the port had made tremendous achievement since 2009 including procurement of seagoing vessels for the port and construction of the Pangaon Inland Container Terminal (ICT) during the government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The port was also going to set up a truck terminal in the port area very shortly.
The port's status in the international maritime world has advanced a lot. In the year 2009, the port's position among the biggest 100 in the world was at 98 but it improved a lot over the last few years as it now stands at 86 in 2015.
Against the port's daily demand for 6,843 cubic metres of water the Chittagong WASA had so far been meeting about a half of it-3,780 cubic metres.
CPA chairman Rear Admiral Nizamuddin Ahmed said: "Now we don't have to wait for the WASA water as we are producing enough water to meet the entire demand from the vessels calling at the port and the employees and officers living in the port's residential area."
The plant is equipped with facilities to procure surface water, rain water and the water from the Karnaphuli. It has also deep tubewells as the alternative water source. The plant has four desalination units each having the capacity of producing 0.1 million (one lakh) litres of water per hour.
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