New sewerage project proposed in Chattogram  

Chattogram Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) has proposed a new sewerage project under public-private partnership (PPP) for the Patenga area of the port city.

The Wasa authorities have initiated a self-financed feasibility study for the "Chattogram Metropolitan Sewerage Project for Patenga Catchment".

To carry out the study, four companies – GTCBL, IQT, Innovest, and BETS JV – entered into a Tk6.5-crore contract on Monday.

Wasa Managing Director Engineer AKM Fazlullah and representatives from Marubeni Corporation, a Japanese company interested in financing the project, were also present at the contract signing event at the Wasa Bhaban.

According to data from the Wasa, the project, estimated to cost around Tk3,510 crore, entails the construction of a sewage treatment plant with a daily capacity of five crore litres, a 68-kilometre-long pipeline, and a low-lift pump station.

If successfully executed, the project will introduce a sewerage system to an area of approximately 28.5 square kilometres in Patenga, constituting 20% of the entire city. This development is expected to connect approximately 11,000 households, benefiting around 5 lakh people.

The Chattogram Wasa authorities conveyed the project proposal to the PPP authority in July 2022. Subsequently, the policy approval was granted in October, following verification by the screening committee.

During the Bangladesh-Japan fifth joint PPP platform meeting held from 3-7 October, the Wasa authorities proposed the involvement of the Marubeni Corporation, which responded positively. Following this, the four companies were chosen through a tender process to conduct the feasibility study.

According to Engineer AKM Fazlullah, the city has only two rivers, and the lack of a sewage system is causing water sources to become polluted.  

"Once the project's feasibility study is completed, the findings will be presented to the Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs. The subsequent steps and implementation process will be determined accordingly," he added.

Mustafa Azim Kasem Khan, who serves as the managing director of FloWater, the Bangladeshi partner of Marubeni Corporation, told The Business Standard, "The feasibility assessment is also under examination by Wasa authorities. Given their own investment involvement, they are conducting a thorough study as well."

Chattogram city presently produces approximately 40 crore litres of sewage daily, which flows into the Karnaphuli and Halda rivers via canals, ultimately reaching the Bay of Bengal.

The city is taking a significant step by initiating the construction of its first comprehensive and centralised sewage system. This effort involves dividing the entire city into six different catchments.

In the meantime, Wasa has entered into an agreement with the South Korean firm Taiyu Engineering and Construction Limited. This partnership, established on 11 January last year, aims to implement Sewage Treatment Plant-1 (STP-1). The project, funded by the government at Tk3,808 crore, will provide services to 20 lakh people.

The Halishahar area of the city will host a sewage treatment plant capable of purifying 10 crore litres of waste daily, along with a faecal sludge treatment plant with a capacity of 300 cubic metres per day.

The remaining five catchments are projected to cost around Tk16,972.69 crore.

Two of these initiatives will receive funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica). A group of eight Wasa engineers, accompanied by the managing director, recently visited Japan to observe sewage management systems, following an invitation from Jica.

The funding for the other three catchments is expected to come from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of South Korea, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) of the French government, and Marubeni Corporation.