To improve the water supply and sanitation services in the port city Chittagong, the World Bank is planning to start detailed project preparation work for the proposed Chittagong Water Supply Improvement and Sanitation Project. A World Bank team recently visited Chittagong and was apprised of the priority infrastructure and institutional development needs for the water supply, sanitation and storm-water drainage services in the city.
Chittagong is the second largest city in Bangladesh where only 33% people have steady access to drinking water. There is no piped sewerage system in the city. The storm-water drainage function is still being operated by the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC). Flooding and water-logging are two main concerns of the city and are major constraints for the development of the city.
The World Bank, the Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (CWASA), and Government of Bangladesh (GOB) along with various Development Partners held a series of discussions regarding the possibilities of World Bank support towards improvement of the water supply and sanitation conditions in the port city.
The proposed project will help to improve the sustainability, reliability and affordability of the water supply, sanitation and storm-water drainage services in Chittagong. It will support in collaboration with other Development Partners, a range of investments and institutional development efforts. The proposed project would cover the construction of water treatment plants, the rehabilitation and expansion of the water distribution systems, the identification and development of priority drainage and sewerage/sanitation investment plans. Further, the project would strengthen the institutional capacity of Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (CWASA) into an efficient utility.
The project would include additional technical assistance support to support the government to develop investments and institutional development plans for various cities and urban centers in Bangladesh, setting the stage towards possible future phases of World Bank support to the sector. The project would also expand CWASA’s service delivery to the slum areas to provide water supply and sanitation services by developing innovative and customized delivery models.
The preparation of this project is preceded by the USD149 million Dhaka Water Supply and Sanitation Project which was approved by the World Bank Board in December 2008. These projects form part of the World Bank’s long term commitment to support the development of the urban water supply, sanitation and storm-water drainage sector in Bangladesh.
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