| Project Detail |
The project will provide safely managed, inclusive and resilient drinking water, sanitation, and solid waste management (SWM) services in Bandarban, Lama, and Rangamati towns in the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) area of Bangladesh and improve projects design quality and readiness in other towns and economic zones for future water sector investments. It will (i) adopt climate-resilient and gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) designs, (ii) improve institutional capacity, and (iii) promote behavioral change to maximize project impact and sustainability.
Project Name Chattogram Hill Tracts Inclusive and Resilient Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project
Project Number 51296-002
Country / Economy Bangladesh
Project Status Approved
Project Type / Modality of Assistance Loan
The project will provide safely managed, inclusive and resilient drinking water, sanitation, and solid waste management (SWM) services in Bandarban, Lama, and Rangamati towns in the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) area of Bangladesh and improve projects design quality and readiness in other towns and economic zones for future water sector investments. It will (i) adopt climate-resilient and gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) designs, (ii) improve institutional capacity, and (iii) promote behavioral change to maximize project impact and sustainability.
Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy
The CHT region in southeast Bangladesh comprises a mostly hilly area of about 10% of the countrys territory (13,294 square kilometers) across three districts (Bandarban, Khagrachari, and Rangamati). The region is one of the countrys most disadvantaged and least developed areas. Around 50% of CHT population belongs to 11 different small ethnic communities. People living in project towns are 54,000 in Bandarban, 27,100 in Lama (Bandarban district), and 107,500 in Rangamati and suffer from inferior urban services compared to the countrys average. Less than a third of their population has access to piped water supply, which is intermittent and unsafe. Sanitation and SWM services are also insufficient because of poor containment, collection, and treatment infrastructure. Almost 100% of fecal waste or wastewater and 90% of solid waste end up in the environment with no treatment or stagnate in proximity to urban dwellings creating unsanitary conditions.
The project will build on previous interventions in Bandarban and Rangamati pourashavas under the Third Urban Governance and Infrastructure Improvement (Sector) Project, which improved (i) road and drainage infrastructure, (ii) urban planning capacity through establishing town planning unit and preparing master plans, and (iii) governance by creating town and ward level coordination committees, and information and grievance redress cells.
The Eight Five Year Plan and the Perspective Plan 2041 of the Government of Bangladesh recognize the need to provide sustainable and resilient urban infrastructure to sustain the economic growth and address poverty and equality issues, especially in the CHT. The Plans explicitly refer to heavy investments in critical urban services like water supply, drainage sanitation and waste management, and identifies CHT as one of the priority regions. The project will be also aligned with the National Strategy for Water Supply and Sanitation (2014), and National Action Plan on Institutional and Regulatory Framework for Fecal Sludge Management (2020), which set key principles, responsibilities and regulations for the water supply and sanitation sector.
The project will incorporate the following lessons from ADBs previous urban development and water operations in Bangladesh: (i) apply a holistic multisector approach to maximize investments effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability; (ii) adopt disaster- and climate-resilient designs; (iii) strengthen governance and local government capacity in sustainable O&M; (iv) ensure high quality and readiness at entry to minimize implementation delays; (v) promote behavioral change and strong community commitment and awareness for sustainable outcomes; and (vi) mainstream GESI dimensions based on GESI action plans implementation experience.
Impact
Access for all to adequate, safe, and affordable basic services including water, sanitation, and waste management ensured (Eighth Five Year Plan 2021-2025) |
