The World Bank (WB) has warned the government that the Chittagong Water Supply Improvement and Sanitation (CWSIS) project could be cancelled if the Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (CWASA) fails to sign the consultancy contract for the water treatment plant by May. On July 26, 2010, the government signed a financing agreement with the WB worth USD 170 million for the Chittagong Water Supply Improvement and Sanitation Project (CWSISP).
The project was scheduled to be implemented during the period June 2010 to December 2015 by the Chittagong WASA under the overall supervision of the Local Government Division (LGD).
If the WB cancels the project funding, the Chittagong WASA will fail to achieve the target of covering 90 per cent of the demand for water by 2015, CWASA sources said.
CWASA meets only around 40 per cent of the demand for water from the residents of the south-eastern port city by producing 200 million litres against the daily requirement of 500 million litres. The government has received a credit commitment of USD 170 million for the CWASA’s CWSIS project from the International Development Association (IDA). It intends to apply a part of the proceeds of this credit to pay for procurement of consultancy services to prepare a Strategy and Institutional Framework for Sanitation and Drainage in Chittagong City.
Of the total project cost of USD 186.59 million, USD 170 million will be provided as credit by the IDA, the concessionary arm of the WB. The remaining USD 16.59 million will be provided by the Bangladesh government.
The implementing agency has failed to make any progress in the implementation of the project even though several months have passed. The WB has identified it as a ‘problem project’.
According to the Economic Relations Division (ERD), the WB has not disbursed the fund because the preliminary progress of the project is insufficient. The WB suggested that necessary initiatives should be taken to move the project out of the “problem status” and accelerate disbursements.
The CWASA, on March 7, invited eligible applicants to indicate their interest about providing the services. Interested consultants were invited to provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (brochures, description of similar assignments, experience in similar studies and operating conditions, availability of appropriate professional qualifications and experience among staff, and so on.)
The WB wants the consultant to have enough experience in providing consultancy services in developing urban sanitation and drainage strategies and plans. These may be engineering and management consultancy firms, but proposals will also be welcomed from consortia led by a consultancy firm and including university departments with relevant specialist knowledge and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with experience in urban sanitation and drainage.
Firms and consortia which submit proposals should be able to demonstrate knowledge and experience related to physical, institutional and financial aspects of sanitation and drainage. In particular, they should provide evidence of having prepared strategic plans for sanitation, drainage, or both. In addition, they should provide evidence of experience in developing institutional frameworks for urban sanitation and drainage, and in facilitating building of consensus around a strategy and action plan.
-With The Independent input
