Chinese company HydroChina Corporation has signed an agreement with Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) to finance the construction of Dasherkandi sewerage treatment plant.
Chen Guanfu, vice-president of HydroChina, and Taqsem A Khan, managing director of Dhaka Wasa, signed the contract at a hotel in the capital yesterday.
The much-awaited project, part of the Hatirjheel-Begunbari development project, will also be funded by Dhaka Wasa and the Local Government Division (LGD), sources told the Dhaka Tribune.
Sources at Wasa said the agency is estimating a cost of around Tk3,317 crore in building the plant, on 60 acres of land in Dasherkandi, Khilgaon, and hopes to finish the project by 2019.
However, it has yet to decide which company will be in charge of the construction or when the project will take off.
Sources at the LGD said the initial estimated cost of the project was Tk425 crore when Wasa planned to launch the project in January 2011, aiming to finish by December 2013, but lack of sufficient fund delayed the project.
But various private companies have recently shown interest in investing in Wasa projects due to the agency’s streak of success, HydroChina being one of them, said Taqsem.
“Our success stories are being studied by several Saarc countries who are looking to implement our methods,” he told reporters.
Chen Guanfu said HydroChina was inspired by the recent successes of Dhaka Wasa and it was hoping to construct a fully-efficient sewerage treatment infrastructure in Dasherkandi.
However, Taqsem believes the agency still has a long way to go in improving the city’s sewerage facilities, as it currently has the capacity of covering only 30% of the capital when it comes to sewerage services.
Dhaka Wasa has an elaborate plan to do it, which includes constructing three more sewerage treatment plants at Uttara, Mirpur and Rayerbazar in phases, as well as upgrading the existing plant in Pagla, Narayanganj, according to Wasa officials.
“After all four plants are established, the Dhaka-dwellers will get modern sewerage facilities,” Taqsem said, adding that the renovation of Pagla plant would likely start early next year.
Hatirjheel water to get better
Experts said the Dasherkandi project will improve the quality of water in Hatirjheel-Begunbari canal, which is worsening every day due to a lack of proper sewerage treatment facility.
Sewerage that is currently disposed into the canal will be directed to the Dasherkandi plant once it is finished, saving the water from getting contaminated, said Dr Mujibur Rahman, professor at Buet.
“We have completed the feasibility study and sent a complete design of the project to Dhaka Wasa,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
The Hatirjheel-Begunbari integrated development project aims to conserve rain water, improve the water quality in the canal, reduce water-logging in the capital and maintain environmental balance.
The canal connects to the Balu River, which later joins the Shitalakkhya River. So, the plant will also prevent water contamination in these river, experts said.
