MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $250 million loan to expand the coverage and quality of water supplies to nearly 11 million people in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s fast-growing capital city.
“The city is struggling to meet the water needs of its booming population, and, more worryingly, its groundwater is rapidly depleting,” said Norio Saito, Principal Urban Development Specialist with ADB’s South Asia Department. “This assistance will allow Dhaka’s water authority to improve facilities and tap a new water source to take pressure off existing supplies.”
Dhaka has been drawing heavily on groundwater but the current rate of extraction is no longer sustainable with the water table falling by 2-3 meters a year. In addition, the Sitalakhya River – the city’s main source of surface water – is becoming increasingly polluted.