Ambassador of France to Bangladesh Jean-Marin Schuh has visited Saidabad water treatment plants, renewing his country's commitments to support Bangladesh.
"The visit served as an opportunity to renew the French government's commitments toward the government of Bangladesh," said a statement issued here on Monday.
Fanny Nesen, Project Officer in charge of the water and sanitation sector of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) in Dhaka accompanied the French envoy while visiting the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) headquarters in Dhaka and the project sites recently.
By providing financial and technical support to DWASA, the statement said, France is supporting the preservation of Dhaka's water resources while providing accessible, sustainable and reliable water services for all.
Through AFD, the French government is financing 167 million euro of water projects in Bangladesh, which will supply an additional 950,000 cubic metres of drinking water to Dhaka.
Mr. Jean-Marin Shuh visited the Saidabad 1 and 2 water treatment plants, constructed by the French company Degremont (Suez). He also visited the site of the Saidabad 3 water treatment plant being financed by AFD, along with KfW, Danida and the European Investment Bank.
The project will double the current site's production capacity and once completed, Saidabad will be the largest water treatment plant in Asia.
Mr. Jean-Marin Schuh said: "These projects are the results of the continuous presence of France in the water sector in Bangladesh, completing an ambitious process started with the visit of President Mitterrand in 1991 and his commitment to contribute to the major works aimed at domesticating the floods which ravaged the country."
The project is in line with the government of Bangladesh's decision to replace the extraction of groundwater with the treatment of surface water to meet the city's growing demand for water.
For this reason, the Saidabad treatment plant, like the Gandharbpur treatment plant also financed by AFD, will use water from the Meghna River.
