Suez, Veolia win contract to build €275m water plant in Bangladesh

The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority or WASA has awarded Suez and Veolia a contract to design, build and operate a drinking water production plant in Narayanganj’s Gandharbapur.

The contract, worth 275 million euros, will be executed by a joint venture set up between Suez and Veolia, through a subsidiary of Veolia Water Technologies, as equal partners.

Dhaka is facing dwindling supply from its aquifers, the main source of drinking water for its population of 11 million, Veolia said in a statement on Thursday.

Over the issues of population growth and increasing urbanisation, the amount of drinking water required is expected to double by 2030 in Dhaka while the level of the region’s aquifers continues to drop each year.

Bangladesh established the Dhaka Water Supply Project, which aims to diversify water intakes and in particular to augment the use of surface water.

Under the contract with Veolia and Suez, both environmental services companies will design, build and operate a new drinking water treatment plant using a water intake 22km upstream on the Meghna River.

The plant will supply approximately 4.3 million of the capital’s residents with drinking water compliant with the World Health Organisation’s international standards.

The project will be funded by the Asian Development Bank, the French Development Agency, the European Investment Bank and the Bangladeshi government.