$275 million loan agreement with ADB for water supply

MNA Business Desk: As news agency reports, the government contracted $275 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for improving and expanding water supply system in Dhaka in 17 July.

Mohammad Mejbahuddin, Senior Secretary, Economic Relations Division (ERD), and Kazuhiko Higuchi, Country Director, Bangladesh Resident Mission of ADB, signed the agreement on behalf of Bangladesh and ADB respectively at a ceremony at ERD, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

Sewerage Authority (DWASA) and Dhaka Water Supply will implement $408 million project. Of the amount, ADB will provide $275 million from its general capital resources under a soft-term loan agreement.

“Dhaka city is expanding fast, and demand for safe drinking water is rising rapidly. This project will help over seven million people in Dhaka get access to safe, regular, and affordable water services.” said Country Director Kazuhiko Higuchi.

“Dhaka city dwellers will get supply of safe drinking water 24-hour a day once the project is implemented.” Deputy Project Director Engineer, Abdus Salam, told to media.

He also said that the scheme is targeting for improving the water supply system in Dhaka by making it more dependable, sustainable, and climate-resilient. It would also improve the proficiency of the water supply network and advance the service distribution and the size of DWASA.

ADB gave DWASA with $400 million for advancing water distribution system in Dhaka. Around 5,000 new and legal connections will be made in low income communities, and 229,000 connections will be progressed for families and communities.

It is also targeting 24-hour piped water supplies to an additional 6.5 million people in the new district metered areas by 2022. Non-revenue water losses will be cut to below 10% from the recent estimated rate of around 30%.

A range of actions will be taken to boost the capacity of the staff to manage and operate the network effectively. Training will be provided to about 700 staff members, with 30 percent of them being women.

Though the authority is taking steps to enlarge capacity with the ADB’s help, it will not be sufficient to meet projected requirements without a considerable cut in ongoing losses.