Water woes await Ctg, Cox's Bazar as every project ignores its supply

Chattogram and Cox's Bazar are undergoing massive industrialisation and development works, but plans of these projects ignored the ensured supply of freshwater, which, experts believe, may soon pose a challenge to these key projects as well as the broader region.

Works on economic zones, power and logistics hubs, tourism zones and other infrastructure development are ongoing at the same pace in the region, resulting in heavy reliance on regional rivers and underground water – two conventional sources of water for human, irrigation and industrial consumption.

The increasing salinity of the Karnaphuli River and rapid groundwater depletion compound the water supply issues for all sorts of usage. The onus is on Chattogram Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa), which is meant to supply water in the port city and often expresses its incapacity to meet the mounting water needs for industrial and service sectors.

Although relevant authorities assure the issue will be addressed soon, experts emphasise the importance of prioritising water resources before project initiation.

Matarbari Port in Cox's Bazar's Moheshkhali gives a broad hint how worse the water issue could be in future. Freshwater is to be shipped by water supply vessel from Chattogram Port to Matarbari Port, which in the past two years has received only 140 ships carrying raw materials for the Matarbari coal power plant project.

When the deep-sea port officially opens in 2026, water demand will increase and the current water solutions will become unfeasible, experts say.

Project officials, however, say there is a plan to set up a water treatment plant for Matarbari by then.

Faridul Alam, deputy conservator of Chattogram Port Authority, told The Business Standard that around 4,000 ships crowd the port every year and, with a growth rate of 5%, the number of ships will be around 8,000 in 2040.

Currently, the port's daily water demand is 800 tonnes (25,403 gallons), which is met by Chattogram Wasa and deep tube wells, he mentioned.

"Water treatment plants will be set up as per a master plan. Hopefully, there will be no shortage of water," Faridul said.

AKM Fazlullah, managing director of Chattogram Wasa, told TBS, "Water is often neglected during project implementation, leading to crises later."

The Chattogram-Cox's Bazar coastal region is facing a freshwater shortage, critical for industrialisation, said Fazlullah. Using deep tube wells or river water after treatment is not a viable solution.

"Therefore, prioritising water resources before project initiation or significant investments is crucial," the official said.

Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar

The water crisis is a significant challenge for major investments, exemplified by the country's largest industrial zone, Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar, Chattogram Wasa MD said. "This 30,000-acre industrial zone now grapples with a severe water shortage."

At present five industrial units have started commercial production and 15 plants are under construction. Three more industrial establishments will start production by 2023 in the industrial enclave.

According to the Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar Master Plan, the daily untreated water demand in the entire industrial zone will be 364 MLD (million litres per day) by 2025, 516 MLD by 2030, 730 MLD by 2035 and 1033 MLD by 2040.

A Korean company is interested in working through Wasa to supply water to Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar by laying a 132km pipeline on the rail track from the Meghna River in Chandpur.

A feasibility study is in progress, but implementation may be time-consuming.

Other options include utilising water from the Feni River, deep tube wells, and addressing seawater salinity.

Bepza Economic Zone

The country's largest export processing zone, the Bepza Economic Zone in Mirsharai, is facing a water crisis as well.

Bepza officials said many businesses within the zone are encountering water supply problems, leading to the departure of two significant textile companies that made substantial investments this year.

Ensuring a water supply is one aspect, but transporting it from the distant Meghna River to this location would significantly increase the cost compared to other EPZs.

At present 135 (25%) plots have been allotted in the Economic Zone.

Mohammad Anamul Haque, the project director of Bepza Economic Zone, declined to provide further details but mentioned that the focus in this EPZ is on promoting dry industries while discouraging those with higher water requirements.

Bangabandhu Tunnel

The Bangabandhu Tunnel under the Karnaphuli River in South Chattogram is awaiting commissioning with several side projects, including modern cottages, picnic sheds, restaurants, convention halls, waiting rooms, and car parking, to attract tourism.

Even after several attempts, Parjatan Corporation and Chattogram Wasa failed to agree on supplying water to the facilities.

Fazlul Haque, general manager (construction) at Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, told TBS, "The project is valid till June next year. The Department of Public Health Engineering is working to solve the water problem."

Aysha Akter, head of the Civil Engineering Department at Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology, said that prior to project initiation, comprehensive evaluation and small-scale experimentation are essential. "Given the long-term nature of projects, future implications must be considered."

Looming water crisis

Among the 12 industrial zones of Chattogram, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpanagar, Bepza Economic Zone and Karnaphuli Drydock Special Economic Zone are being established with government funding. Chattogram EPZ and Karnaphuli EPZ are fully operational and a new factory is being built in Korean EPZ.

According to the government's population projections, the industrial zones will see an influx of 3.2 million people to the Mirsharai region over the next 20 years. Then the water demand will be 64 crore litres per day.

In the last 40 years, around 50 lakh people out of 75 lakh people in the district suffered from water shortage as the underground water level of Chittagong has dropped by 20 metres, according to the Bangladesh Water Development Board.

According to a report prepared by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), the population of Cox's Bazar district and the surrounding area is estimated to increase by around 40,000 in 2026 and around 1,10,000 in 2041.

In Teknaf municipality and upazila, there is no piped water supply system, according to the report. Deep well installation requires digging up to 1,000 feet in some cases. Drinking water salinity and depleted water aquifers are also reported.

Chattogram Wasa MD AKM Fazlullah told TBS his office has jurisdiction only in Chattogram city.

"Jica is working on the overall water crisis in the entire southern region. They are checking detailed feasibility," he said.

Is desalination in solution plan?

Not humans alone, industries also tend to use freshwater as saltwater can corrode machines and cause chemical reactions to products.

The huge increase in industrial use of water has put alarming pressure on the scarce freshwater sources, desalination has become the most important means to treat seawater for industrial and human usages. Many countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, even Europe and North America have resorted to desalination plants to overcome serious freshwater stress and projected increase in water scarcity well into 2025. Experts worldwide find seawater desalination as a viable response of the globe to the looming water scarcity. Though still expensive and high energy-consuming, improvements in technologies – thermal desalination and reverse osmosis – have led to gradual decline in cost. Industrial data suggest the average costs of treatment of seawater into acceptable standard of water are about $0.70/m3 ($2.65 per thousand gallons) for very large plants (325,000 m3/day) and rise to $1.25/m3 ($4.75 per thousand gallons) for small plants (10,000 m3/day).

Given the estimated water need, Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar will need a very large plant if it wants to treat seawater for its industries, while a small plant will be enough for the likes of Chattogram or Matarbari port.