The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday approved a project involving Tk 18.83 billion for ensuring WASH facilities for around 4.5 million people through providing water supply and sanitation.
The approval came from the 19th ECNEC meeting of the current fiscal year (FY21) held virtually with ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, reports BSS.
The Premier chaired the meeting from Ganabhaban while ministers, state ministers, secretaries and other officials concerned joined the meeting from the NEC Conference Room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
According to project details, the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) under the Local Government Division will implement the project for ensuring rural water supply and sanitation by December 2025 with financial assistance from the World Bank and AIIB.
The project will be implemented at some 98 upazilas under 30 districts of eight Divisions.
“Once the project is implemented, around 4.5 million people would get WASH facilities,” Planning Commission member of the Physical Infrastructure Division Mamun-Al-Rashid said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the term ‘WASH’ refers to the provision of water, sanitation, health care waste management, hygiene and environmental cleaning infrastructure, and services across all parts of a health care facility.
The main project operations include the implementation of some 78 large piped water supply schemes, 3,364 piped water supply schemes at the community level, some 352 public sanitation and hygiene facilities, some 500 sanitation and hygiene facilities at community clinics, some 780 running water facilities at community clinic toilets.
The project operations also include the installation of 3,51,270 toilets for extremely poor people and some 882 handwashing stations and providing necessary items to prevent COVID-19.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Division Senior Secretary Md Ashadul Islam said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the meeting asked the authorities concerned to ensure optimum use of surface water where it is available during the implementation of this project.
The senior secretary informed that a total of five projects were approved on Tuesday involving an overall estimated cost of Taka 33.08 billion.
“Of the total project cost, Taka 12.45 billion will come from the national exchequer, Taka 209.8 million from the concerned organisation’s own fund while the rest of Taka 20.42 billion as project assistance,”
Out of the approved five projects, two are new while three others are revised projects.
