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Published : 17 Aug 2025, 07:13 PM
The government has approved a 35 percent cost increase for a surface water treatment and supply project under Dhaka WASA, raising expenditure by Tk 28.26 billion and extending the timeline to 2027.
The approval came at Sunday’s meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), chaired by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.
Initially taken up in 2014 as the “Dhaka Environmentally Sustainable Water Supply” project, its cost was first estimated at Tk 81.51 billion.
The first revision reduced spending slightly to Tk 81.47 billion, and the second lowered it by another Tk 46 million. But the third revision sharply increased costs, taking the total to Tk 109.73 billion.
Planning Advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud said Dhaka’s falling groundwater levels made surface water treatment unavoidable. He noted the project would draw water from the Meghna River, processed at multiple plants before reaching the capital.
Mahmud admitted that questions remain about the cost escalation.
“This is a very necessary project, but repeated revisions and delays raise suspicions of irregularities. Our suspicion is WASA may have mismanaged this project. It will now be taken as a case study by IMED to examine why such delays and cost hikes occur,” he said.
While ruling out halting the project, Mahmud said lessons must be learned to prevent future problems.
“This project will continue, but past errors and mismanagement must be reviewed so they are not repeated.”
The ECNEC meeting also approved nine other projects:
● Agriculture ministry’s Tk 1.43 billion “Sustainable Agriculture Development in Rangpur through Modern Technology Expansion.”
● Power, energy and mineral resources ministry’s Tk 18.18 billion project to modernise and expand 33/11KV substations in industrial zones.
● Industries ministry’s “BMR of Carew & Co (BD) Ltd (second revised)” with timeline extension only.
● Education ministry’s Tk 5.19 billion “Rabindra University Bangladesh Establishment.”
● Health ministry’s Tk 8.16 billion “Burn and Plastic Surgery Units at 5 Medical Colleges (first revised),” with Tk 3.6 billion cost increase.
● Housing ministry’s Tk 7.75 billion “Multistorey Flats for Government Staff at Azimpur Colony (Zone-C).”
● Home ministry’s Tk 651 million “Two Multistorey Residential Buildings for Fire Service and Civil Defence.”
● Local government ministry’s “Safe Water and Sanitation Expansion in Bandarban” with timeline extension only.
● Post and telecoms ministry’s Tk 619 million “Telecom Network at Mirsarai Economic Zone, Chattogram.”
