Khulna city to get $160m ADB loan for sustainable sewerage system

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide US$160 million loan to establish a modern and sustainable sewerage system in Khulna city. 

To this effect, a loan agreement was signed between the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the government and the ADB on Wednesday in Dhaka. 

Fatima Yasmin, secretary at ERD, and Manmohan Parkash, ADB country director in Bangladesh, virtually signed the loan agreement. 

Md Abdullah, managing director of Khulna Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (KWASA), signed the project agreement. 

Under the $160 million-funded Khulna Sewerage System Development Project, KWASA will develop a centralised sewerage system that will benefit the city’s 880,000 residents. 

It will include a 269-kilometre sewer network, eight pumping stations, two sewage treatment plants and about 27,000 property-level sewer connections. 

A faecal sludge treatment plant will also be part of the project to provide inclusive sanitation services to areas where sewer connections are not feasible. 

This project builds on an earlier ADB-funded project, which improved Khulna’s water supply for 875,000 beneficiaries by switching the water source from groundwater to surface water. 

“This project will support the government’s efforts to contain outbreaks of diseases including COVID-19 in future by establishing a climate-resilient and environment-friendly sewerage system for safe sanitation and hygiene,” Manmohan Parkash said. 

[email protected]