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Government, Development Partners Sign Partnership Agreement to Improve Urban Water & Sanitation Services

Dhaka, Bangladesh, 10 November 2007

The Government signed a partnership framework agreement with five development partners today for improving water, wastewater and drainage services in Dhaka and Chittagong through reforms, financial management improvement, and expanding service delivery. The partnership framework reflects the vision mutually shared by the Government and the development partners for improving the urban water supply and sanitation sector for the benefit of all, including slum dwellers.

Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Md Aminul Islam Bhuiyan and Safar Raj Hossain, Secretary, Local Government Division jointly signed for the Government. ADB Country Director Hua Du; Ambassador of Denmark Einar Hebogaard Jensen; Ambassador of Japan, Masayuki Inoue; Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Suk Bum Park; and World Bank Country Director Xian Zhu signed for the development partners at a ceremony at ERD, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka today.

The initiative to improve water supply and sanitation in the two largest cities of Bangladesh aims at achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target for reducing by half the people without access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation by 2015, as envisaged in Bangladesh's national poverty reduction strategy. The development partners will support the Government's strategy to improve and expand sustainable service delivery of water, wastewater and drainage services to the people of Dhaka and Chittagong. The strategy includes improving governance and accountability and increasing the transparency of operations and the efficiency of resource utilization of the service delivery institutions. It will also build on the resulting efficient service delivery management framework to enhance the quality and expand the access to services by all strata of the Dhaka and Chittagong populations.

The initiative emphasizes meeting basic minimum needs related to water supply and sanitation for all citizens, especially that of the poor, and decentralizing the service delivery mechanism and strengthening capacity of the local government institutions for sustainability of investments and good governance. The development partners will also provide support for recommending optimal service delivery options and institutional framework and drawing up a blueprint to realize sector reforms and capacity building to achieve desired coverage and performance levels. The partnership framework outlines a sector investment plan for the next 10 years which will help to achieve sector targets, sector reforms and capacity building needs within the available resources. The framework agreement has provision for other development partners sharing the same vision to join the Partnership in future.

Currently, ADB is supporting the Government in water supply improvements in Dhaka, while the World Bank plans to assist on sewerage and drainage improvements in Dhaka, including scaling-up successful models for water supply and sanitation service provision in low income communities and slums. The World Bank and ADB will also assist to improve the performance and management efficiency of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA). Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA) is extending credit to the Government to construct a new water treatment plant (Saidabad II). The Government of Japan is focusing its assistance on water supply service in the city of Chittagong. The Government of the Republic of Korea is providing support to prepare a master plan for water supply and wastewater management in Chittagong.

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