Ctg city dwellers to get sewerage system

Chattogram city’s long wait for a proper sewerage system and a waste treatment plant is finally going to end.

For 56 years since its establishment Chattogram Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (CWASA) has gone without having any proper sewage responsibility, its activity limited mainly to supply of pure drinking water.

In the absence of a scientific sewerage system in the country’s second largest city, wastes are dumped into the Karnaphuli and Halda rivers through canals and from there to the sea.

If the new project is implemented, the wastes will be treated at plant before being dumped.

The project will be implemented by dividing the entire city into six zones. In the first phase, out of 41 wards, 2 million urban dwellers of 11 wards will be brought under the sewerage system.

According to sources at WASA, the sewerage project (first phase) of Chattogram metropolis was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) at the end of 2018. The main objective of this project is to build a sewerage system for Chattogram dwellers through construction of proper sanitation facilities.

Even though the authorities are yet to pick up the contractor for the project worth Tk 3,808,58,77,000 , it is certain that the work will go to a foreign company.

Out of the total expenditure, the government will provide Tk 3,758 crore while the remaining Tk 50 crore.

Sources close to the project said South Korean contractor Taiyong Engineering and Construction Company Ltd is in hot pursuit of the work.

It also has got the work order for Bhandal-Juri Treatment Plant of Chattogram WASA and the Sheikh Russell Water Treatment Plant in Madunaghat.

According to sources, Chinese and Korean companies have bought 36 tenders for the implementation of the Chattogram WASA Sewage Treatment Plant Project and related activities. Of these, 33 tenders were bought by Chinese companies and the remaining by Korean companies.

In this regard, Project Director (PD) and supervisor of Chattogram WASA Engineer Ariful Islam said international tenders were invited for 3 packages for WASA’s wastewater treatment plant project. Of these, one company has bought 36 tenders and another has won 33 tenders. No order has been issued to any organization yet. It is under process.

Although there are multiple contractors to the project, Taiyong is assumed to be the sole bidder in this project as they are working on two projects earlier. But the work on the Bhandal-Juri treatment plant project has got stalled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. And so, the project authority is now feeling the importance of discussing whether the same company is capable of working on another mega project important for Bangladesh’s infrastructure.

Sources claimed that there are doubts about the company’s ability to handle larger projects as the quality and progress of work on the Bhandal-Juri project is not visible as per the expectation. The value of these three agreements together will exceed Tk 4,000 crore.

In response to a question, Ariful Islam said, “Who will be given the tender or not is a top secret. There is no scope to know it violating the official secrecy. Once the tender is ready, it will be officially announced. Before that it cannot be said who is getting it.”

When contacted, Engineer AKM Faizullah, Managing Director of Chattogram WASA, told UNB that many local and foreign companies have submitted tenders. Verification and sorting are in progress in this regard. Moreover, it may take some more time because of the ongoing pandemic. “We will inform you who will get the tender when it is finalized.”