Chittagong Port Authority has been setting a milestone by desalinating surface water from Karnaphuli River and then supplying the drinking water to foreign vessels.
The achievement is part of a project that aims to gain self-dependency in supplying pure drinking water to foreign and local vessels.
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan formally inaugurated the port authority’s water treatment plant on March 21.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Md Zafar Alam, member (admin and planning) of Chittagong Port Authority, said the water treatment plant has been running in full swing.
“The water purifying plant is the new milestone of the country’s principal seaport. The plant is the largest of its kind in the country. Many organisations in coastal areas had constructed desalination surface water purifying plants, but not in a big way like Chittagong Port Authority,” said Alam.
“With the operation of the treatment plant, the dependence on Chittagong Wasa has been reduced to a great extent. As a result, Chittagong Wasa now can supply that water to city residents. As of now, the plant is running smoothly and we are treating water in the plant which is similar to World Health Organisation-defined standards,” he added.
Md Mesbah Uddin Chowdhury, project director and executive engineer of the CPA, said: “Although the plant is capable of purifying 8,800 tonnes a day, we are not utilising the full capacity right now. We are now treating the amount of water in the plant which is required for the port.”
According to CPA sources, the premier port of the country requires around 6,000 tonnes of water a day. However, before setting up the plant, the port had to depend on Chittagong Wasa for obtaining around 2,400 tonnes of water per day.
In February 2013, the CPA signed a deal with Dhaka-based ABM Water Company and Italy’s Oltremare for constructing the water treatment plant at a cost of around Tk24 crore.
The treatment plant uses water mainly from three sources – surface water from the Karnaphuli, rainwater, and underground water. It has a 2km long pipeline through which the water comes to the treatment plant from the Karnaphuli. Then the water goes through various steps of purification.