The daily water demand in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Industrial City, which is spread over Mirsarai and Sitakunda upazilas of Chattogram and Sonagazi upazila of Feni, has been projected to be around 101 crore and 30 lac litres. The Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) has adopted a long-term plan to meet this demand for water.
The plan was adopted at a consultation meeting on water supply in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Industrial City with various stakeholders at the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday (10 November). Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office Md. Tofazzal Hossain Miah presided over the meeting. BEZA’s Executive Chairman Sheikh Yusuf Harun was also present.
BEZA is working with the Institute of Water Modelling (IWM), Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), Chattogram Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Chattogram WASA), and Water Resource Planning Organization (WARPO) to implement the plan.
BEZA has already completed a feasibility study in collaboration with IWM. BEZA has adopted short, medium, and long-term plans considering the feasibility study and current demand of investors. The short-term plan includes pumping out 2 crore litres of water daily through the installation of 40 deep tube wells and pumping out 5 crore litres of surface water daily from the Muhuri reservoir in Feni. It must be mentioned that BEZA has already started work on supplying 5 crore litres of surface water daily from the Muhuri reservoir at the initial stage.
Under the medium and long-term water supply plan (2026-40) at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Industrial City, a feasibility study is being conducted by DPHE on pipeline extraction from the confluence of the Meghna-Dakatia rivers near Chandpur. The Department of Public Health Engineering will take up the project to supply one thousand MLD of water very soon after the feasibility study. A consultancy firm is in the process of conducting a feasibility study on the daily extraction of 4 crore litres of surface water from the Feni river. Under the World Bank-funded Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpanagar Unnayan project, there are plans to supply 3 crore litres of water daily through a desalination plant at the initial stage. A feasibility study has been started in this regard. Rainwater harvesting and reservoirs will supply about 50 lac litres of water daily in the future.
Besides, initiatives have been taken to recycle CETP water under the plan. Initiatives have been taken to build a CETP at an initial stage, which will provide about 40 lac litres of water per day.
