Mirpur water reservoir project gets additional funding

The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase has allocated additional funds to Dhaka WASA (Water and Sewerage Authority) Mirpur water reservoir project, which would allow Mirpur residents access to fresh water from a reservoir in Savar.

The approval for additional funds came at a meeting on Wednesday, presided by Agriculture Minister Adbur Razzaque and held at the cabinet division auditorium in Dhaka.

An additional 7.24 per cent of the total fund (Tk 21.12 crore) has been allocated to the project titled ‘The Tetulzhora-Bhakurta Water Reservoir (Phase1) for Mirpur area in Dhaka,’ which is being implemented under the Local Government Ministry.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Additional Secretary Nasima Begum said: “The freshwater demand in Mirpur area would be met after completion of Dhaka WASA’s Tetulzhora-Bhakurta Water Reservoir Project.

“The fresh water will come from 45 deep tube wells from Bhakurta in Savar through 45km water supply lines. Dhaka Wasa has already completed 80 per cent of the project. More than 1.5 million people of Mirpur will benefit from the reservoir.”

The additional secretary further added that the government had signed a deal with South Korean company Holdo Raton in 2011, for construction of the project at a cost of Tk 292.88 crore in phase one. With the allocation of additional funds, the project cost has reached Tk 314 crore.

The government had launched the project with funding from the Exim Bank of Korea and Government Agency for Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) in 2011, but construction remained incomplete due to bureaucratic red tape.