Law360, New York (June 30, 2014, 4:08 PM ET) -- The European Investment Bank said Monday that it will lend the Bangladesh government €100 million ($136.9 million) to finance a new sustainable surface water supply system intended to improve the availability, reliability and condition of water in the country. The water
Law360, New York (June 30, 2014, 4:08 PM ET) -- The European Investment Bank said Monday that it will lend the Bangladesh government €100 million ($136.9 million) to finance a new sustainable surface water supply system intended to improve the availability, reliability and condition of water in the country.
The water supply system will be based in the country's capital city of Dhaka, and will help provide the country's citizens with reliable access to quality water, according to a Monday press release. The project — known as the Dhaka Environmentally Sustainable Water Supply Project — will consist of a raw water intake at the Meghna River, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Dhaka, as well as a 13 mile raw water transmission pipeline and a water treatment plant capable of purifying 500 million liters of water per day, the EIB said. The water treatment plant will be located in Gandharbpur.
"The project will promote the development of social and economic infrastructure," the EIB said in its press release. "It will improve availability, quality and reliability of water supply services in Dhaka, with positive health and environmental benefits for the population."
The project will also include almost 9 miles of treated water transmission pipelines that will run from the Gandharbpur water treatment facility to the injection point of the existing distribution network, the EIB said. The loan will also help a complementary project that will improve the distribution network in 16 district metered areas with a population of about 1.3 million, according to Monday's press release.
The project is expected to be completed by 2019, according to the EIB.
The EIB's announcement of its $136.9 million injection into the Dhaka Environmentally Sustainable Water Supply Project comes about eight months after the Asian Development Bank sunk $250 million into the project itself.
The ADB said in November that Dhaka, which has about 11 million residents, is in drastic need of water supply upgrades because underground levels have dropped while surface water has become polluted from the city's rapid expansion. Currently, Dhaka gets more than 80 percent of its water from the ground, causing the water table to drop by two to three meters per year, according to Dhaka's water management authority.
Overall, the project will cost $675 million. The Bangladesh government is expected to supply about $225 million, and Agence Francaise de Developpement is expected to give another $100 million.
The EIB's $136.9 million injection into the Bangladesh's water supply system project marks the second loan it has handed out to help the public sector of the country in the last year. In November 2013, the EIB lent the country $112.3 million to support more efficient power generation.
-- Additional reporting by Igor Kossov. Editing by Emily Kokoll.