Ctg Wasa set to supply water beyond city with new treatment plant
The facilities include an underground reservoir in Anwara with a capacity of 10,000 cubic metres and an overhead reservoir in Patiya with a 3,000 cubic metre capacity
For the first time, Chattogram Wasa is set to supply water to areas outside the city, with 60 million litres daily production from its new Bhandaljhuri plant expected to begin by the end of this month.
From this plant, services will be extended to industries and residential areas in Boalkhali, Patiya, Karnaphuli, and Anwara upazilas, marking a 12% increase in water production capacity to 560 million litres daily (MLD).
The Bhandaljhuri Water Supply Project, approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council in June 2015, went into construction in October 2020. Originally estimated to cost Tk1,036.30 crore, the project's cost rose to Tk1,994.14 crore in two phases.
"The project is 95% complete, and 85% of the financial work has been done. Currently, trial operations are underway, with water being supplied to pipelines and leaks being fixed. Production is expected to start by the end of this month," Project Director and Chattogram Wasa Superintending Engineer Mohammed Mahbubul Alam told TBS.
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Under the project, a 66 MLD capacity intake facility, a 60 MLD water treatment plant, 133.30 kilometres of pipelines and reservoirs for storage have been constructed.
The facilities include an underground reservoir in Anwara with a capacity of 10,000 cubic metres and an overhead reservoir in Patiya with a 3,000 cubic metre capacity.
The project funding includes a Tk1,224 crore loan from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund of Korea's Exim Bank, Tk750.14 crore from the government of Bangladesh, and Tk20 crore from Chattogram Wasa.
Industrial and residential water supply
The project aims to meet the increasing water demands of industries and residential areas on the south bank of the Karnaphuli River.
Of the 60 MLD of water produced, 50 million litres will be allocated to fertiliser factories like Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Limited (Kafco), Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Limited (CUFL) and Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) Fertilizer Company, along with industrial zones such as the Chinese Economic Zone and Korean Export Processing Zone, and tourism hubs.
CUFL has requested 20 MLD, Kafco 10.5 MLD, DAP fertiliser factory 1.2 MLD, and the China Economic Zone and Korean Economic Zone 30 MLD and 20 MLD, in that order.
Discussions with industries and economic zones have been going on, with water supply to CUFL and DAP fertiliser factory expected to begin shortly.
Additionally, nearly 15,000 residential connections will receive around 10 million litres daily.
"Supply to 600-700 residential customers will begin initially, and production will gradually increase based on demand," Project Director Mahbubul Alam added.
Despite substantial progress, the project has also faced some delays.
Initially scheduled for completion in June 2023, the deadline has been extended to June 2025 due to complications in constructing a pipeline under the Karnaphuli River using a tunnel boring machine.
In October 2023, the TBM became stuck 78 feet deep while crossing 202 metres of the river. Efforts to retrieve the machine stalled due to a land ownership dispute over a nearby pond required for recovery operations.
Meeting future demands
Currently, Chattogram Wasa serves 3.2 million people through over 91,000 connections, 93% of which are residential.
The organisation's daily production capacity of 500 million litres comes from the Sheikh Russell Water Supply Project (90 MLD), Sheikh Hasina Water Treatment Plants 01 and 02 (283 MLD), and the Mohra Water Supply Project (9 MLD), supplemented by 4 MLD from deep tube wells.
Once operational, the Bhandaljhuri plant will increase capacity by 60 MLD. However, demand is projected to rise to 700 million litres by 2032 and 1,220 million litres by 2040.
Wasa Chief Engineer Makshud Alam explained, "Due to climate change, increased salinity during the dry season disrupts industrial production. This project aims to address this issue while reserving land for future water treatment plants. Water from Bhandaljhuri will only be supplied to areas on the south bank of the Karnaphuli, with no connection to the city's reservoir."
With this expansion, Chattogram Wasa aims to balance industrial growth and residential needs while adapting to climate challenges in water management.
