Govt moves to implement Tk103.35cr project to strengthen air pollution monitoring

The government has initiated a move to monitor air quality in roadside areas under the Dhaka and Chattogram City Corporation and to identify the extent of air pollution caused by vehicles there.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) recently approved a project to this end titled "The Project for the Improvement of Equipment for Air Pollution Monitoring" with an estimated cost of Tk103.35 crore.

Of the total project cost, Tk35.51 crore will come from the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) portion while the rest of Tk67.84 crore as grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The project area covers Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Chattogram City Corporation.

The specific goals of the project are to identify the sources and extent of air pollution related to road transport, framing effective policy and implementation strategy for reducing air pollution and curbing health hazards related to air pollution and thus facing socio-economic challenges.

The project will be implemented during the period from March 2025 to June 2028 by the Department of Environment (DoE) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

This Japanese grant will be utilised for enhancing the capacity to measure and analyse air pollutants derived mainly from vehicle emissions through setting up Continuous Air Monitoring Stations (CAMS) for analyzing the impact of vehicle emissions in Dhaka and Chattogram, thereby contributing to the enhancement of air pollution control capacity.

Commenting on the project after its approval by the ECNEC, Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud termed the project as a 'nice' one and said that the government was yet to identify properly to what extent air pollution is taking place in the country due to vehicles.

He informed that under this fresh scheme, some new stations or CAMS would be set up to identify the extent of air pollution caused by vehicles on the roads in Dhaka and Chattogram city corporation areas.

"Once the project is completed, it will be possible to know about the extent of air pollution in those areas caused by vehicles."

A planning commission official said currently, there are some 31 surveillance stations by the Department of Environment (DoE) while 16 of those are Continuous Air Monitoring Stations (CAMSs).

Based on the available data from these stations, the real time Air Quality Index (AQI) is being measured and thus being posted regularly on the website of the Department, which is playing an important role for creating awareness among people and also to protect public health.

Although air pollution caused by vehicles is one of the main reasons for air pollution, the DoE has no roadside monitoring stations.

Under the circumstances, the official said the project has been undertaken with support from JICA to determine the air pollution caused by vehicles as well as monitoring and analyzing the trend.

The main project operations include installation of seven roadside Continuous Air Monitoring Stations (CAMSs) and one (1) Vehicle Customized Air Monitoring Station (CAMS),   

Besides, necessary machinery and equipment will be procured for the project alongside construction of boundary walls and land development.

Under the project, a total of 24 roadside CAMS would be set up,  of which 19 would be in Dhaka while 5 in Chattogram. The selection process of sites considers availability of land, security of sites, availability of electricity and network connection.

Earlier on 3 February, a grant agreement and Exchange of Notes were signed for the project between the governments of Bangladesh and Japan to this end.