The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday approved a Tk 4,597.36-crore project titled Sayedabad Water Treatment Project (Phase-3) in a bid to set up a surface water treatment plant with a capacity of supplying 450 million litre of water per day to meet the growing demand of water in the capital.
The approval was given at the 6th Ecnec meeting of the current fiscal year held at the NEC conference room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said a total of seven projects were approved at the meeting with an outlay of Tk 7,215.63 crore. “Of the total project cost, Tk 3,117.76 crore will come from the government exchequer, Tk 104 crore from the own funds of the organisations concerned while Tk 3,993.87 crore as project assistance,” he said.
He also said six of the seven projects are new ones while the other is a revised project. The Planning Minister said Dhaka Wasa will implement the Sayedabad Water Treatment Project (Phase-3) by June 2020 under which a 450 million litre capacity surface water treatment plant would be set up at Sayedabad in a bid to reduce dependency on extraction of groundwater.
Of the total cost, Tk 1,513.80 crore will come from the government exchequer, Tk 30 crore from the organsation’s own fund while Tk 3053.56 crore as project assistance to be provided by DFID, AFD and European Investment Bank.
The intake location of the project is the right embankment of the Meghna River at Haria under Sonargaon upazila of Narayanganj district while the water transmission line would go through Haria-Sonargaon-Narayanganj-Sayedabad and then Dhaka.
According to Planning Ministry officials, per day demand of supplied water to some 1.50 crore dwellers of Dhaka city is 2,200 million litre whereas the supply is 2,000 million litre per day. The demand of water in Dhaka city would reach 5,268 million litre per day by 2035.
Dhaka Wasa is now mainly dependent on groundwater for meeting the demand and with such operations, the layer of groundwater is gradually depleting by 2-3 metres every year, posing a serious risk to the environment as well as supplying fresh drinking water in future.
Currently, the ratio of supplied ground and surface water in the capital is 78:22. As part of a long-term plan titled the Water Master Plan for Dhaka city framed by Dhaka Wasa, the ratio of groundwater and surface water will be 30:70 by 2035. The Sayedabad Water Treatment Plant (3rd Phase) has been undertaken based on the success of its first and second phases. Under the project, there will be construction of intake raw water pumping station, sludge treatment plant, 52.8 kilometre transmission line, 54 kilometre distribution line and 33 kv electric line.
The Ecnec meeting approved another project titled ‘BSCIC Industrial Park, Tangail’ with Tk 164 crore to be implemented by the BSCIC under the Industries Ministry by June 2017.
Under the project, some 50 acres of land would be acquired to prepare some 280 industrial plots while necessary infrastructural facilities would be ensured at the Industrial Park like roads, drains, culverts, power, water and gas connections. It is expected that some 250 import substitute and local agro-based export-oriented industrial units would be set up at the park which will create employment opportunities for some 6,500 people.
Meeting sources said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the meeting directed the authorities concerned for ensuring waste management, accommodation facilities for workers, especially for women, and water bodies before undertaking any industrial park project.
The Prime Minister also directed for appointing full-fledged Project Director in case of projects going above Tk 50 crore to ensure better coordination and implementation of the development projects.
The other projects approved in the meeting are Strengthening Research Activities of Bangladesh Sugarcane Research Institute with Tk 63.17 crore, Protection of right embankment of River Jamuna and constructing alternate embankment from Kurnibari of Sariakandi upazila of Bogra to Chandanbaisha with Tk 301.53 crore, Karnaphuli Water Supply Project (2nd revised) with Tk 1,848.53 crore, Scour Protection of Meghna Bridge and Maintenance of Meghna and Gomti Bridges with Tk 41.05 crore and development of various roads under Chittagong City Corporation with Tk 199.99 crore. Ministers and State Ministers attended the meeting while Planning Commission members and concerned secretaries were present.
