Dhaka water security project gets $370m World Bank board approval

The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved $370 million in financing to improve sanitation and solid waste management services, reduce water pollution, and restore rivers and canals in Dhaka and its surrounding areas.

The Metro Dhaka Water Security and Resilience Programme will strengthen the capacity of local and national institutions to curb water pollution in greater Dhaka, which generates about half of the country's formal employment and one-third of its GDP. The programme introduces a results-based system to help city corporations and the Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) deliver measurable improvements. It aims to provide safely managed sanitation services to 550,000 people and improved solid waste management services to 500,000 people, prioritising communities most affected by pollution and service gaps.

"Water bodies are the lifeline for millions of people in greater Dhaka. However, rapid, unplanned urbanisation and industrial growth have outpaced the city's capacity to manage wastewater and pollution, affecting public health, the environment, and the economy," said Jean Pesme, World Bank Division Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan. "This programme will help build the institutional foundations needed to reduce pollution and restore the health of Dhaka's rivers and canals over time."

Dhaka faces severe wastewater and water pollution challenges. Only about 20 per cent of residents have piped sewer connections, while another two per cent use functional faecal sludge management. More than 80 per cent of untreated wastewater and sewage is discharged into Dhaka's interconnected waterways. More than half of the city's canals have disappeared or are clogged, worsening pollution.

To address these challenges, the operation will take a holistic approach involving the public and private sectors, alongside city corporations. It will support improved service delivery, strengthen the regulatory framework, and revive rivers and canals around Dhaka by reducing pollution and restoring flow capacity.

Industrial pollution is also acute. About 80 per cent of export-oriented garment factories are in Dhaka, and more than 7,000 factories release an estimated 2,400 million litres of untreated wastewater into waterways daily, contributing to skin, diarrhoeal, and neurological conditions, according to the World Bank. The programme will mobilise private sector participation, particularly industries in and around Dhaka, to scale up industrial effluent treatment and water reuse to improve water efficiency and reduce pollution.

"The programme is part of a multi-phase, long-term engagement supporting Bangladesh's broader water security and resilience agenda," said Harsh Goyal, World Bank Senior Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist and Task Team Leader of the project. "This phase will prioritise reducing pollution discharge into Dhaka's water bodies, strengthening institutional and regulatory monitoring systems—including a comprehensive water quality index for Dhaka's rivers—establishing digital, real-time pollution monitoring, and developing integrated river restoration plans for four major Dhaka rivers."

In the first phase, the programme will cover selected areas in Dhaka and Narayanganj. It will help improve primary waste collection coverage—prioritising underserved communities near major canals and rivers—and upgrade recycling systems. It will also undertake community-led awareness campaigns and support pollution-control enforcement to stop solid waste dumping, direct sewage discharge into drainage networks, and industrial effluent discharge into rivers and canals.

The World Bank stated that it has committed more than $46 billion in grants, interest-free and concessional credits to Bangladesh since its independence, and currently has commitments of more than $12 billion across 43 projects.