ECNEC approves seven projects of Taka 7,215 crore

The government has launched a new phase for setting up new plant at the Sayedabad Water Treatment Project (Phase-III) aiming to meet the growing demand of drinking water in the capital.

The new plant having the daily supply capacity of 450 million liter water will require a cost of Taka 4,597 crore would reduce the dependence on extraction of groundwater. Dhaka WASA will implement the project by June 2020.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) today approved the project at its 6th meeting in the current fiscal held at the NEC conference room in city`s Sher-e-Banglanagar with ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Planning Minister A H M Mustafa Kamal, after the meeting, briefed the newsmen about the outcome. He said the ECNEC approved a total of seven projects with an outlay of Taka 7,215 crore.

"Of the total project cost, the government will provide Taka 3,117 crore from the national exchequer while Taka 3,993 crore will come as project assistance and the organization concerned will contribute Taka 104 crore from the own fund," he added. Kamal informed six projects are new while one is revised among the approved seven projects.

The Planning Minister said the intake location of the project is the right embankment of River Meghna at Haria under Sonargaon Upazila of Narayanganj district while the water transmission line would go through Haria-Sonargaon-Narayanganj-Sayedabad and then Dhaka.

Under the project, there will be construction of intake raw water pumping station, sludge treatment plant, 52.8 kilometer transmission line, 54 kilometer distribution line and 33 kv electric line.

Planning Ministry officials said daily water supply demand for some 1.50 crore city dwellers is 2,200 million liter against the supply is 2,000 million liter. The daily demand would reach to 5,268 million liter water by 2035.

Dhaka WASA is now mainly dependent on groundwater for meeting up the demand and with such operations the layer of ground water is gradually decreasing by two to three meters every year which poses serious risk to the environment as well as supplying fresh drinking water in future.

The ECNEC approved another project titled "BSCIC Industrial Park, Tangail" with Taka 164 crore to be implemented by the BSCIC by June 2017.

Under the project, some 50 acres of land would be acquired to prepare some 280 industrial plots while necessary infrastructural facilities would be ensured at the Industrial Park like roads, drains, culverts, power, water and gas connections.

The other projects approved in the meeting are Strengthening Research Activities of Bangladesh Sugarcane Research Institute with Taka 63.17 crore, Protection of right embankment of River Jamuna and constructing alternate embankment from Kurnibari of Sariakandi Upazila of Bogra to Chandanbaisha with Taka 301.53 crore, Karnaphuli Water Supply Project (2nd revised) with Taka 1,848.53 crore, Scour protection of Meghna Bridge and maintenance of Meghna and Gomoti Bridges with Taka 41.05 crore and development of various roads under Chittagong City Corporation with Taka 199.99 crore.

Ministers and State Ministers attended the meeting while Planning Commission members and secretaries concerned were present.