Port city finally getting central sewerage system

Work for Package-1 of Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) of Chattogram Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (CWasa) has started with an aim to create a pollution-free city for residents.

CWasa has divided the STP project into six packages. However, the organisation has been able to start work for only one package so far, 60 years after CWasa's establishment.

Ariful Islam, superintendent engineer of CWasa and project director, said the base construction for the treatment plant, covering CWasa's 163-acre land in Halishahar's sea coast area, is ongoing. Piling work will also start soon for laying the 200-km pipeline under the packages.

CWasa is working with South Korean company TAEYOUNG Engineering and Construction Limited to implement STP Package-1 at a cost of Tk 2,627.93 crore, said CWasa officials.

There will be no need for septic tanks in any city building, as all household waste will be directly dumped into the sewerage treatment plants after the project's completion in 2025.

"There will be no need for septic tanks in any city building, as all household waste will be directly dumped into the sewerage treatment plants after the project's completion in 2025," added Ariful.

"At present, septic tank waste of almost 60 lakh people is being dumped into the Karnaphuli and Halda river through the city's drains and canals -- contaminating the environment," he said.

Through Package-1, out of 41 wards, 2 million urban dwellers of 11 wards will be brought under the sewerage system, said the CWasa project director.

"However, due to unplanned urbanisation and narrow roads, STP pipelines can't be laid in 30 percent of city areas, so these areas will be out of the sewerage system. Waste will be collected from those areas separately," he said.

Since its inception in 1963, CWasa didn't take any initiative to solve the sewerage problem.

Chittagong Municipality, which began its journey with formation of Chittagong Municipal Committee, in 1863 introduced the city's drainage system, but didn't take steps for removing sewage.

Currently, Chattogram City Corporation collects garbage from households and dumps those in Munir Nagar and Jalalabad dumping grounds.

According to sources at Wasa, the sewerage project (Package-1) of Chattogram metropolis was approved by the Ecnec at the end of 2018.