DHAKA, Bangladesh, Jan. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Beautiful beaches along the Balu River flowing through Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, attract increasing numbers of visitors this year. The number of cruise ships, tourists, and residents is rising significantly during weekends. The once dirty and smelly river has turned clear, and villagers have begun to fish in the river, while children are having a great time swimming and playing in the water.

The drastic improvement in water quality has been brought about with help from the Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant on the river's west side. The China-funded project adheres to Chinese standards, and its construction was undertaken by Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina). The plant officially went into operation on April 1, 2022. The domestic sewage generated by some 5 million people in downtown Dhaka can be treated daily, which has greatly improved the water quality of the city.

This is the first modern large-scale sewage treatment facility in Bangladesh and the largest single sewage treatment plant in South Asia, with a sewage treatment capacity of 500,000 cubic meters per day.

The construction of the plant officially started on August 1, 2017, which mainly included the sewage lift station outside the plant, the sewage conveyance pipelines, the main plant area, and the sludge dry & incineration plant. The project provided more than 1,000 jobs and corresponding business training for the locals, and the total value of local equipment and materials purchased was about US $45 million, effectively driving local economic development.

The plant so far has treated more than 45 billion Ltrs of sewage from the municipal sewage network, and the domestic sewage of the five surrounding regions has been collected at the plant through the drainage system and effectively treated. The treated up-to-standard water is then discharged into a nearby river to further improve the local water environment. More residents nearby have also benefitted from environmental improvement. They sincerely thank the Chinese builders involved in the construction, and often warmly invite Chinese engineers to visit their homes.

"This was quite different from the traditional Chinese design model; making the design drawings was very demanding, and the approval process turned out to be difficult," said Zhang Chengbo, project manager of the Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant. "We organized experienced designers, and adopted the on-site design model, greatly promoting the approval progress of the design drawings as a result."

Since the construction of the Dasherkandi Project, PowerChina has pitched similar projects to relevant ministries and cities in Bangladesh to solve the problem of urban water supply and sewage, and the mature Chinese technology is used to promote the national basin planning and further improve the water resources and water environment of Bangladesh.

In addition, in the field of renewable energy, PowerChina has applied to the Bangladesh government for more than 900 megawatts of development permits. PowerChina not only wants to treat sewage into clean water, but also bring green energy to Bangladesh.