PM Hasina inaugurates Dasherkandi sewage treatment plant, largest in South Asia

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the recently completed modern and environment-friendly Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Dhaka today, the largest of its kind in South Asia.

The Dasherkandi STP has the capacity to treat 500 million litres of sewage per day.

According to the Wasa authorities, the Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant will process sewage for nearly five million people in Dhaka City every day. The STP will treat sewage coming from a number of the city's areas, including Tejgaon, Gulshan (part), Niketan, Banani, Badda, Ramna, Eskaton, Nayatola, Moghbazar, Wireless, Mouchak, Outer Circular Road, Mohanagar Housing Project, Kalabagan, Hatirjheel, and parts of Dhanmondi and Gulistan.

The prime minister will inaugurate the operation of the Dasherkandi Treatment Plant at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) this morning. Besides, the foundation stone laying ceremony for Pagla treatment plant will be held, Mirza Golam Kibria, superintending engineer (Water and Sewage Treatment Plant Circle) of Dhaka Wasa, told The Business Standard yesterday.

Dhaka Wasa Managing Director (MD) Taqsem A Khan on Tuesday told the media that some 45 tonnes of fly ash will be generated from sewage sludge a day, which can be used as raw material in cement factories.

The Dasherkandi plant will be able to treat 20-25% of the 2,000 million litres of sewage generated in the capital city.

The plant was constructed as part of a masterplan taken up by Wasa to construct five STPs to treat 100% of the sewage generated in Dhaka, in a modern and environment-friendly way, said Taqsem.

Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant, which is a China-funded project, was implemented on 62 acres of land in the capital's Khilgaon near Aftabnagar at the cost of Tk3,482 crore.

Of the cost, Tk1,106.42 crore came from the government's fund, while Tk10 crore from Dhaka Wasa, and Tk2,366 crore from the Exim Bank of China.

The project started on 1 July, 2018. Having the capacity to treat 500 million litres of sewage, the modern plant will play an enormous role in preventing environmental pollution and improving the water quality of the Rampura canal, Rivers Balu and Shitalakshya, and other water bodies.

With the opening of the plant constructed in the East of Aftabnagar area, Bangladesh is setting a milestone in the country's sewage treatment.

According to the project, a waste lifting station on the west side of Rampura bridge, a five-kilometre trunk sewer line from Rampura to Aftabnagar and Dasherkandi plant, and the main treatment plant at Dasherkandi were constructed.

In the government masterplan, Dhaka metropolis has been divided into five areas [Pagla, Dasherkandi, Uttara, Rayerbazar and Mirpur]. If this plan is implemented, 100% improved and sustainable sewage services will be ensured for the city dwellers, said Dhaka Wasa.

Wasa MD Taqsem A Khan said that water and environmental pollution will be prevented by purifying the sewage generated in a large part of Dhaka through the Dasherkandi treatment plant and discharging it into the River Balu.

Besides, the project also aims to reduce the water pollution of the River Shitalakshya at the intake point of Phase-1 and Phase-2 of Sayedabad water treatment plant.

Pagla sewage treatment plant will treat the sewage generated from Kalabagan, Moghbazar, Shahbagh, Eskaton, Arambagh, Paltan, Syedabad, Motijheel, Rampura, Taltala, Basabo, Golapbagh, Ahmedbagh, Shahidbagh, Goran, Begunbari, Khilgaon and West Nandipara.

Taqsem said, "Dasherkandi sewage treatment plant is one of the five master plans. Five hundred million litres can be treated here every day. According to the Chinese company, such a treatment plant does not even exist in China. Sewage treatment, plant treatment, incineration. All treatments are in the same plant. There may be bigger ones in China, but not three services at once."

The Dasherkandi project was approved on 25 August, 2015, and scheduled to be completed by February 2020. Later, the project's duration was extended till June 2022.

Initially the cost of the project was estimated at Tk3,317 crores, which later increased to Tk3,712 crores, for extension of the duration.

However, officials said that in the second amendment, the cost of the project has been saved by Tk230 crore, and the total cost of the project stands at Tk3,482 crore.

According to Wasa sources, at present about three and a half thousand litres of sewage are generated in Dhaka every day. There are 881 kilometres of sewer line in Dhaka, and other than that there is no sewerage system in place in any other area of the capital.

The government has taken a number of measures to radically change the water management and sewerage system of Dhaka city through the "Ghure Darao Dhaka Wasa" initiative, to bring the capital city into a 100% sewerage network, treat the sewage and dump it in rivers.