Aims to treat domestic sewage that will benefit nearly 230,000 households

2 DECEMBER 2020 – Gazipur City Corporation is set to receive a wastewater and sludge treatment system in two of its urban zones under the public private partnership model (PPP), aiming to treat domestic sewage that will benefit nearly 230,000 households.

With an estimated cost of $82 million, the pilot project will include a sewerage network of nearly 137 kilometers, two sewage treatment plants of about 56 million liters per day cumulative capacity, mechanical desludging of septic tanks, and transportation of fecal sludge to three treatment plants.

The move follows the signing of an agreement between IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Public-Private Partnership Authority to provide transaction advisory services to help set up a wastewater management system in Gazipur and Tongi areas of GCC, said a press release.

The project was the result of a three-year effort by the Bangladesh Water Multi Stakeholder Partnership, facilitated by the 2030 Water Resources Group, a public-private-civil society multi-donor trust fund hosted by the World Bank Group.

Sultana Afroz, CEO of Bangladesh Public-Private Partnership Authority, said that the initiative was a big step towards meeting the government’s goal of improving environmental and wastewater treatment standards in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

“The economic fallout from the impact of COVID-19 makes mobilizing funds and expertise from the private sector more important than ever,” said Wendy Werner, IFC country manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

Last year, IFC assisted the government to develop a water distribution network and supply facilities with a capacity to produce 340 million litres of potable water per day for the estimated 1.5 million residents of Purbachal.

Gazipur, which is a major hub for manufacturing of readymade garments, the country’s main export item, has seen rapid urbanization over the past two decades.

At present, the city of over two million people does not have a wastewater treatment plant or a centralized sewerage network.

Nearly 70 per cent of the 230,000 households in Gazipur and Tongi areas rely on a decentralized system, which is typically a conventional septic tank and pit latrines, while the wastewater generated by the remaining 30 per cent is discharged directly into open drains or water bodies.

IFC’s advice in public-private partnerships is helping national and municipal governments in developing countries partner with the private sector to offer tangible benefits to millions of people by improving access to education, energy, transport, healthcare, and sanitation.

IFC has advised on the structuring of nine PPPs in the water sector, including supply and treatment, and is currently working on three projects worldwide.