Ctg Correspondent
A new public-private partnership (PPP) model is being launched in Chattogram to ensure safe, reliable and sustainable water supply services for underserved communities.
Chattogram WASA will work jointly with Max Foundation Bangladesh and Max Social Enterprise Limited, with Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) wards 40 and 41 selected as the pilot areas.
A three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed among the three organisations at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Chattogram on Friday morning. Chattogram WASA Managing Director Engineer Selim Md. Jane Alam, Country Director of Max Foundation Bangladesh Dr. ATM Tariqul Islam and Managing Director of Max Social Enterprise Limited Yamin Faruk signed the agreement.
Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and Yana van der Linden, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Trade and Development at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh, attended the ceremony. Inge Klassen, First Secretary for Water and Climate at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Bangladesh, witnessed the signing.
The project will assess water demand, evaluate the existing supply system and test a new service-delivery model, with the possibility of expansion to other parts of the city.
A survey conducted in May this year by Max Foundation Bangladesh and Max Social Enterprise Limited, which operates Max Tap Water, found that the two wards have a combined population of 164,019. Chattogram WASA's pipeline network reaches only around 20 to 40 percent of households.
Consequently, most residents depend on alternative sources. Around 85 to 115 private water vendors operate in the two wards, with residents purchasing an average of 25 to 30 litres of water a day and spending approximately Tk 25 to Tk 50 daily.
The survey also found serious groundwater quality concerns. Salinity levels reached up to 6,000 parts per million (ppm) in some locations, compared with the national safe limit of 1,000 ppm.
The PPP model aims to combine Chattogram WASA's public infrastructure, water production capacity and distribution network with the operational expertise, innovation and business-management capacity of the private sector.
Speaking as the chief guest, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury stressed the importance of cooperation among the government, NGOs and the private sector to reach marginalised communities.
He said the government alone cannot always reach people at the grassroots level, while NGOs have strong community connections and the private sector brings experience, financing and investment capacity.
Yana van der Linden said the Netherlands has a longstanding commitment to Bangladesh, particularly in the water sector, and that bilateral relations are moving towards an equal partnership based on sustainable economic development.
Chattogram WASA Managing Director Engineer Selim Md. Jane Alam said the partnership could establish a new standard in urban water management.
The initiative builds on the Building Water Business (BWB) programme, implemented from 2022 to 2026 with support from the Embassy of the Netherlands. Under the programme, water supply systems were established across Patuakhali, Barishal and Khulna through more than 105 pipelines.
The Netherlands Embassy is providing financial and technical assistance, although it is not a signatory to the MoU.
If successful, the pilot could be expanded to other underserved areas of Chattogram and potentially replicated in other cities across Bangladesh. #EK
