WB approves $370m to improve sanitation, solid waste management services
Strengthening institutional capacity to lessen water pollution in greater Dhaka aimed at
FE REPORT | Thursday, 12 February 2026
The World Bank (WB) has approved US$370 million in assistance to help improve Bangladesh's sanitation and solid waste-management services, reducing water pollution and restoring rivers and canals in Dhaka and surrounding areas.
The board of the Washington-based global lender gave the approval on February 10 at its headquarters, the WB said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Metro Dhaka Water Security and Resilience Program will strengthen local and national institutions' capacity to help reduce water pollution in greater Dhaka, which generates about half of the country's formal employment and one-third of its GDP, it said.
The program introduces a results-based system to help city corporations and the Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) deliver measurable improvements on the ground.
It aims to provide safely managed sanitation services to 550,000 people and improved solid waste management services to 500,000 people, prioritising communities most affected by pollution and service gaps.
According to the WB, only about 20 per cent of residents have piped sewer system connections, and another 2.0 per cent use functional fecal sludge management. Over 80 per cent of the untreated wastewater and sewage is discharged into Dhaka's interconnected waterways.
More than half of Dhaka's canals have disappeared or are clogged, worsening pollution. To address these challenges, the operation takes a holistic approach involving public and private sector as well as the city corporations.
The programme will help improve service delivery, strengthen the regulatory framework, and revive the rivers and canals around Dhaka by reducing pollution and restoring the flow capacity.
Terming industrial pollution acute, it said about 80 per cent of the export-oriented garments factories are in Dhaka and more than 7,000 factories release an estimated 2,400 million liters of untreated wastewater into waterways daily creating skin, diarrheal diseases and neurological conditions.