Chattogram WASA: 2 more projects with borrowed funds, first one pending

For over a decade, the Chattogram WASA undertook one project after another using loan funds, yet none have been completed on time. Project costs have repeatedly escalated. Now, the organisation has taken on two more loan-funded projects to improve sewage management. Meanwhile, the first sewage project, initiated in 2018, remains incomplete even a year past its original deadline, with costs continuing to rise.

On 2 February this year, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved a new project with an estimated cost of Tk 27.97 billion. Another project was approved at an ECNEC meeting on 25 November last year, with an estimated cost of Tk 51.52 billion. Combined, these two projects involve public-private loans amounting to nearly Tk 71 billion.

Chattogram WASA has developed a mega plan for sewage disposal, dividing the city into six zones or catchments: Halishahar, Kalurghat, Fatehabad, East Baklia, North Kattali, and Patenga.

Work is already underway in the Halishahar catchment, and the two newly approved projects will cover Kalurghat, Baklia, and North Kattali. This means work is set to begin in four of the six zones.

Experts warn that WASA has a history of failing to complete projects on time without cost overruns, raising similar concerns about the two new projects. They emphasise that government oversight will be crucial.

According to official documents, WASA has undertaken 10 major projects over the past decade to improve water supply and sewerage systems. Of these, eight have been completed at a total cost of Tk 82.57 billion, while work on the remaining two is still ongoing at a cost of Tk 58.02 billion. To fund these major projects, Tk 67.19 billion has been borrowed from foreign organisations.

When asked about the delays, Chattogram WASA Chief Engineer Maksud Alam told Prothom Alo that both newly approved projects will be completed on time.

He attributed past delays to factors such as the Covid-19 outbreak, waterlogging, and natural disasters but expressed optimism about meeting deadlines this time.

The initiative to implement Chattogram’s first sewage management project was launched in 2018. Titled ‘Establishment of Sewerage System of Chittagong Metropolitan City’, the project was approved at an ECNEC meeting on 7 November that year, with an initial estimated cost of Tk 38.08 billion. 

The construction was scheduled for completion by 2023, but that deadline was not met. As of now, 60 per cent of the project has been completed, and efforts are underway to increase the budget by Tk 6 billion.

WASA Supervising Engineer and Project Director Mohammad Ariful Islam told Prothom Alo that work could not begin on time due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, officials from the project’s consulting firm, JV of ERINCO, returned to Malaysia, causing delays.

Additionally, new facilities had to be incorporated into the design, further extending the timeline, he argued.

Currently, 65 per cent of the work has been completed, with the extended deadline set for June this year.

However, Ariful Islam noted that progress is being hindered by a budget shortfall, as the necessary funds for the current fiscal year have not been disbursed.

According to WASA sources, the project consultant was appointed on 4 November 2019, almost a year after ECNEC’s approval. The tender process for selecting a contractor was initiated in October 2020, and South Korea’s Taeyang Engineering and Construction Company Limited was appointed as the contractor in January 2022. 

Construction work finally commenced that same month, nearly three years after the project’s approval. As a result, WASA was unable to adhere to the original implementation schedule outlined in the Development Project Proposal (DPP).

* This report, originally published in Prothom Alo Bangla version, has been rewritten in English by Farjana Liakat