DHAKA, Nov 4, 2020 (BSS) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Bangladesh today signed agreements for $160 million in loans to establish a modern and sustainable sewerage system in Khulna, Bangladesh’s third-largest city and center of south–west economic corridor.
Fatima Yasmin, Secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD), and Manmohan Parkash, Country Director of ADB, virtually signed the loan agreement on behalf of Bangladesh and ADB, respectively.
Md. Abdullah, Managing Director of Khulna Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (KWASA) signed the project agreement, said an ADB press release.
“This project will support the government’s efforts to contain outbreaks of diseases including COVID-19 in future by establishing a climate-resilient and environment-friendly sewerage system for safe sanitation and hygiene,” said Country Director Manmohan Parkash.
“The project will help meet people’s basic needs amid rapid urbanization and growth through effective sewage management,” he said.
“Latest technologies including supervisory control and data acquisitions, and online data systems for automatic data logging, as well as energy efficient pumps and equipment and corrosion-resistant pipes with a low carbon footprint will be used to deliver a state-of-the-art sewerage system,” Parkash added.
The release said the Khulna Sewerage System Development Project will develop a centralized sewerage system that will benefit 880,000 residents in the city.
It will include a 269-kilometer (km) sewer network, eight pumping stations, two sewage treatment plants, and about 27,000 property-level sewer connections. A fecal sludge treatment plant will also be part of the project to provide inclusive sanitation services to areas where sewer connections are not feasible.
This project builds on an earlier ADB-funded project, which improved Khulna’s water supply for 875,000 beneficiaries by switching the water source from groundwater to surface water.
The project will strengthen the institutional capacity of the Khulna Water Supply and Sewerage Authority in sewage management services, including asset management, project preparation and management, and introduction of sewerage tariff policy.