Germany to provide €160m for Wasa's Saidabad water treatment plant
The financing includes new funds and amendments to an existing loan to support major upgrades in raw water intake, pipelines and distribution networks
Bangladesh and Germany signed two separate loan agreements for a total of €160 million for a project titled "Climate Change Adapted Drinking Water Resources Management Dhaka II (Saidabad WTP Phase III)" at the Economic Relations Division today (1 December).
The two countries inked a loan agreement for an additional €70 million to the main loan and an amendment agreement to the main loan of €90 million, according to a press release.
Economic Relations Division Secretary Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky, Carla Berke, head of division, Urban Development (South Asia), KfW Frankfurt, and Stefanie Klappenbach, principal portfolio manager, Urban Development (South Asia), KfW Frankfurt, signed the agreements on behalf of their respective governments.
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The main objective of the project is to establish an environmentally friendly, sustainable, and people-friendly water supply system and to reduce dependency on groundwater by ensuring the efficient use of surface water.
The project is being implemented by Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) under the Local Government Division. The Regional Development and Protection Programme (RDPP) of the project was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on 23 March 2025.
The total estimated cost of the project is Tk16,014.83 crore, of which the government of Bangladesh will contribute Tk4,536.17 crore, the project loan amounts to Tk11,448.66 crore, and the implementing agency will contribute Tk30 crore. The project implementation period is from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2029.
Under the loan agreement, KfW Development Bank will provide Bangladesh with an additional €70 million (approximately Tk988 crore).
The financing will be used to construct a raw water intake and raw water pumping station on the Meghna River at Haria, build approximately 26km of raw water transmission pipeline with an estimated diameter of 2,200mm, and expand and upgrade approximately 54km of the primary distribution network for supplying treated water.
Due to the additional €70 million financing for the project, the disbursement period of the original €90 million loan has been revised from 27 June 2024 to 31 December 2026, and the total financing amount has changed accordingly. As a result, the amendment agreement has been signed.
The government of Germany has been a long-standing development partner of Bangladesh. Since 1972, the total commitments of the German government in financial and technical cooperation amount to approximately €4 billion.
At present, KfW Development Bank is financing 13 projects in Bangladesh, including €647.50 million in loans and €170 million in grants.
