New water plant for port city by end of the year: Wasa

Water scarcity in Chittagong city will be reduced remarkably with the completion of one of the two ongoing water supply projects by the end of this year, said Chittagong Wasa's managing director yesterday.

AKM Fazlullah was addressing a seminar jointly organised by Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (CWasa) and Japan International Co-operation Agency (Jica), and titled "Ongoing Water Supply Projects of Jica in CWasa.''

Chittagong city has a demand of over 500 million litre per day (mld) while CWasa at present can supply only 210 mld.

Under one of the ongoing projects, Karnaphuli Water Supply Project (KWSP)-1, construction of about 69 kilometre-long transmission and distribution line and three reservoirs has already been completed while a treatment plant with a capacity of 143 mld is expected to be completed by the end of this year, said Fazlullah.

Another project, KWSP phase-2, is expected to commence in early 2016 and end in 2019 under which another treatment plant and a 600km transmission and distribution pipeline and a reservoir would be constructed to ensure supply of 143 mld.

Besides, a surface water treatment plant with a capacity of 90 mld would be constructed at Modunaghat from the Halda river in the future under a project financed by the World Bank.

With completion of these three projects, CWasa would be able to fulfill the total demand of the city, Fazlullah assured.

Taku Yamabe, senior representative from Jica, said Jica is also providing technical support since 2009 under the project titled "Institutional Improvement and Advancing Non-Revenue Water Reduction Initiative (PANI) of CWasa" to strengthen its operational activities and make its workforce more efficient.

Besides, Jica with the help of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) is also working for supplying water to low income communities in Chittagong city since 2014.

Masuomi Hiroyama, team leader of NJS Consultants Co Ltd, also spoke.