The World Bank has approved a $370 million financing to improve waste management services and sanitation in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka.
This funding will be delivered through the Metro Dhaka Water Security and Resilience Program, and will aim to reduce water pollution and restore rivers and canals in the city and its surrounding areas.
According to the World Bank, Dhaka faces severe wastewater and water pollution challenges – with only 20 per cent of residents having piped sewer system connections, and another two per cent using functional fecal sludge management.
Meanwhile, over 80 per cent of untreated wastewater and sewage is discharged into Dhaka’s interconnected waterways, clogging or drying them up in the process and worsening pollution.
“Water bodies are the lifeline for millions of people in greater Dhaka,” said World Bank Division Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, Jean Pesme.
“This program will help in building the institutional foundations needed to reduce pollution and restore the health of Dhaka’s rivers and canals over time.”
The Metro Dhaka Water Security and Resilience Program will introduce a results-based system to help city corporations and the local Water Supply and Sewerage Authority deliver measurable improvements on the ground.
The program will provide safely managed sanitation services to 550,000 people and improved solid waste management services to 500,000 citizens, prioritising communities most affected by pollution and service gaps.
“The program is part of a multi-phase, long-term engagement supporting Bangladesh’s broader water security and resilience agenda,” said World Bank Senior Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist and Task Team Leader, Harsh Goyal.
“This phase will prioritise reducing pollution discharge into Dhaka’s water bodies, strengthening institutional and regulatory monitoring systems including a comprehensive water quality index for Dhaka’s rivers, establishing digital real-time pollution monitoring, and developing integrated river restoration plans for four major Dhaka rivers.”
The program will also undertake community-led awareness campaigns and pollution-control enforcement to stop solid waste dumping, direct sewage discharge into drainage networks, and industrial effluent discharge into rivers and canals.
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