Tk 16,000 cr debt lands on Chattogram WASA consumers
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
One lakh customers of Chattogram Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) now carry a staggering debt of Tk 16,000 crore. Residential users pay Tk 18 per 1,000 liters of water, while commercial customers face a rate of Tk 37.
This is a significant increase from 2009, when residential rates were Tk 5.41 and commercial rates were Tk 15.32. In the last decade alone, the authority has raised water prices four times, including a sharp 38 percent hike in September 2022.
A proposal to increase prices by another 5 percent was raised during a board meeting on 1 August, which, if approved, will force consumers to buy water at even higher rates.
The reason behind these repeated hikes is the Tk 16,000 crore in loans borrowed from various development partners to ensure the city’s water supply and sanitation system. These loans are funding 12 mega projects, the liability for which ultimately falls on Chattogram WASA’s one lakh customers, 93 percent of whom are general residential users.
Experts alleged that despite frequent price increases, the agency has shown little initiative in reducing its system loss, which stands around 20 percent according to the organization’s own documents.
Chattogram WASA Managing Director Salim Mohammed Jane Alam said, “The massive debt burden of WASA cannot be repaid without government assistance. For this, a letter will be sent to the ministry. In addition, various initiatives are being taken to reduce system loss.”
However, WaterAid South Asia Regional Director Khairul Islam added, “Let WASA bring system loss down to single digits. After that, they can increase the price through public hearings. Increasing the price without reducing system loss is irrational.”
He also recommended the formation of a tariff commission for determining price hikes.
An analysis of Chattogram WASA’s documents reveals that the organization is burdened with Tk 6,669 crore in long-term debt taken from the government and foreign aid agencies for nine projects.
An additional Tk 9,285 crore must be repaid for three ongoing projects like Tk 1,872.13 crore is owed to the French development agency AFD, Tk 3,268.72 crore to the World Bank, and Tk 4,144.28 crore to the Japanese agency JICA, bringing the total debt liability to nearly Tk 15,954 crore.
Despite this massive debt, only Tk 89.14 crore has been repaid between the 2021-22 and 2025-26 fiscal years, averaging just Tk 22 crore annually.
Last fiscal year, while the agency earned Tk 337 crore, its expenditures reached Tk 302 crore, making it nearly impossible to repay the debt from its own revenue. To manage the pressure of interest and installments, the revenue department has proposed the new price hike.
Former City Corporation councilor Jannatul Ferdous Poppy said, “Why should people have to buy water with money? I am paying taxes to the state at various levels to ensure this fundamental right. The government should provide subsidies to WASA. And WASA should stop water theft and corruption.”
Data from the 2025-26 revised budget shows that the agency produced 18,181 crore liters of water last year at a cost of Tk 251.68 crore, or Tk 13 per 1,000 liters. Including operating costs, the total expense rises to Tk 16.5 per 1,000 liters.
However, because 19.78 percent of the produced water - around 3,597 crore liters - is lost to system loss, the actual production cost per 1,000 liters reaches Tk 21. As a result, WASA loses Tk 3 per 1,000 liters for residential use while making a Tk 16 profit from commercial use. The annual financial loss due to system loss is estimated at Tk 64.74 crore.
According to World Bank standards, which advocate for 100 liters of water per person daily, Chattogram WASA wastes an average of 9.86 crore liters daily through its system. Reducing this loss to zero would allow the agency to provide safe drinking water to an additional 9,86,000 citizens.
While the proposed 5 percent price hike would increase annual revenue to around Tk 308.33 crore, the agency could generate the same amount by reducing its system loss by just 4.49 percent.
International water experts Bill Kingdom, Roland Liemberger, and Philippe Marin, in a World Bank Group report, identified corruption, illegal connections, and a political tendency to prioritize new treatment plants over infrastructure repairs as the primary causes of such high system loss.
Since July 2010, the United Nations has recognized safe water and sanitation as a fundamental human right, with standards suggesting that individuals need 50-100 liters of safe water daily for basic needs.
Global platforms such as the Blue Planet Project and Food & Water Watch have long opposed the commercialization of water services, arguing that agencies should focus on sustainable management rather than imposing irrational price hikes on customers.
Residential water in Kolkata, India, is virtually tax-free or subsidized. In Bangkok, Thailand, the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority has not raised water prices in the past 25 years since 1999. They charge ฿ 8.5 per 1,000 liters, which is equivalent to Tk 28-30.
In Kathmandu, Nepal, the tariff has not been increased since 2013. The minimum bill for 10,000 liters is N₨ 100, or around Tk 81, bringing the price per 1,000 liters to just Tk 8.
Dhaka WASA charges Tk 16.70 for residential use and Tk 46.20 for commercial use per 1,000 liters. The last time Dhaka WASA increased its prices was 1 July 2024.
