DHAKA, May 11, (V7N) – The government has approved a Tk 920.85 crore initiative aimed at ensuring emergency water supply in Dhaka and stabilizing the city’s distribution system as demand for safe water continues to rise.

The project, titled “Emergency Water Supply in Dhaka City”, is designed as a short-term solution until large-scale surface water treatment plants currently under construction become operational. Proposed by the Local Government Division, it will be implemented by Dhaka WASA by June 2030 with full government funding.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) cleared the project in its latest meeting. Planning Commission Member (Secretary) SM Shakil Akhter said the initiative would significantly ease Dhaka’s growing water demand. WASA has also been instructed to study groundwater use, recycling, and rainwater harvesting, and submit findings to the government.

A senior Planning Commission official outlined three main goals:

Stabilize supply in response to rising demand.

Provide an additional 576 MLD of water.

Modernize operations with a SCADA system for automation and real-time monitoring.

Currently, Dhaka WASA supplies about 2,977 MLD of water to nearly 20 million residents, with 66% from groundwater and 34% from surface water. Demand is expected to reach 3,558 MLD by 2029.

To reduce reliance on groundwater, WASA is building the Gandharpur Water Treatment Plant (500 MLD) and Saidabad Phase-3 (450 MLD), scheduled to be operational in 2026 and 2028. Until then, the emergency project will act as a stopgap measure.

Covering 361 sq km across DNCC and DSCC, the project will replace 388 deep tube wells, install 450 pump motor sets, 450 VFDs, and 124 SCADA systems, rehabilitate 60 wells, regenerate 280 others, and add 44 iron removal plants. It also includes building 250 pump houses, laying 480 pump delivery lines, 28,000 metres of electrical cables, 40,000 metres of column pipes, and constructing 7,150 metres of boundary walls.

The Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) conducted a feasibility study confirming technical viability. The Planning Commission noted that the project will maintain Dhaka’s water supply stability until the new treatment plants are completed.

END/AJ/RH/