Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday inaugurated South Asia’s largest single sewage treatment plant at Khilgaon in Bangladesh capital Dhaka.

The PM formally launched operation of the Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant, first of its kind in the country, at a function at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka in the morning.

At the same function, Sheikh Hasina also laid foundation stone of the reconstruction and expansion of the Pagla Sewage Treatment Plant in support with the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, having capacity of treating 200 million metric tons of sewage.

‘I formally announced of inauguration of the Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant and reconstruction and expansion of the Pagla Sewage Treatment Plant,’ she said.

The Dasherkandi plant has a capacity of treating five million tonnes of sewage per day, which is 20 to 25 per cent of the total sewage in the capital.

The plant is supposed to play a key role in saving the rivers surrounding the capital from pollution.

The China-funded project was implemented on about 62.2 acres of land at a cost of Tk 3,482.42 crore. Of the total cost, Tk 1,106.42 crore came from the government fund, Tk 10 crore from WASA fund and the remaining Tk 2,366 crore from the Export-Import Bank of China as project assistance.

The government has a master plan to build four more sewage treatment plants, one each in Pagla, Uttara, Rayerbazar and Mirpur areas to treat 100 percent sewage of Dhaka by 2030, of which 90 per cent will come under pipeline coverage and remaining 10 per cent sewage will be collected from the houses.

The plant helps implementing SDG Goal-6 by ensuring better waste management system across the country by 2030.

The Dasherkandi Treatment Plant, which falls within Khilgaon Police Station, is adjacent to Aftabnagar and will treat sewage of several areas of the capital, including Gulshan (part), Banani, Tejgaon, Niketon, Maghbazar, Malibagh, Aftabnagar, Badda, Kalabagan, Panthapath, Dhanmondi (part) and Hatirjheel.

Local government, rural development and cooperatives minister Md Tazul Islam, Local Government Division secretary Muhammad Ibrahim, Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen and Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority managing director Taqsem A Khan spoke at the function.

The project has a sludge drying-burning system with a processing capacity of about 500 tons per day. The construction work started on August 1, 2017.

The project, designed and constructed by Chengdu Engineering Corporation under PowerChina, with one year of operations and maintenance, was handed over to WASA.

The Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant was constructed as part of the master plan taken up by WASA in 2013 to build five treatment plants to prevent river pollution around Dhaka.

According to the project, a waste lifting station is being constructed on the west side of Rampura Bridge at Pragati Sarani, a five kilometer trunk sewer line from Rampura to Aftabnagar and Dasherkandi plant and the main treatment plant at Dasherkandi.

Three separate video documentaries on Dhaka WASA, Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant and Pagla Sewage Treatment Plant were screened at the function.