Bangladesh plans $46 million project to tackle Dhaka waterlogging

Bangladesh is preparing a Tk 567 crore (approximately $46.2 million) project to reduce flooding and waterlogging in Dhaka and surrounding areas, with World Bank financing covering most of the cost.

The Bangladesh Water Development Board project is expected to go before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council this week. The International Development Association, part of the World Bank, would provide Tk 425 crore (approximately $34.7 million) as a loan.

Scheduled for October 2025 through December 2028, the project would restore the Goran Chatbari retention pond and protect the Turag river. Plans include removing pollutants and silt, re-excavating the basin, upgrading pumping systems, building 5 kilometers of walkways, and developing 2 kilometers of ecosystem infrastructure.

Decades of unplanned urbanization, encroachment, and illegal landfilling have contributed to prolonged waterlogging in Mirpur, Pallabi, Kalshi, and nearby areas.