Floating markets, canal walls in Ctg's new Tk3,871cr waterlogging mitigation projects

Infograph: TBS

Despite more than a decade of work and over Tk11,000 crore spent on four megaprojects, Bangladesh's commercial capital continues to go underwater every monsoon. After conventional dredging and infrastructure repeatedly failed to solve the problem, the Chattogram City Corporation is now proposing a completely new, modern technology-driven masterplan.

The city corporation has submitted two new projects worth Tk3,871 crore to the Local Government Division for approval. The projects aim to tackle Chattogram's chronic waterlogging by introducing floating markets inspired by Thailand to prevent canal encroachment and constructing modern reinforced cement concrete (RCC) retaining walls along canals.

Why a new approach?

Previous megaprojects undertaken by the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) and the Bangladesh Water Development Board focused primarily on canal dredging and embankment construction.

Experts say those projects failed to deliver the expected results because poor waste management and heavy siltation have reduced the carrying capacity of canals by nearly 40%.

The new CCC plan seeks not only to improve drainage but also to redesign canal surroundings to prevent future encroachment and ensure the long-term natural flow of water.

The proposed Tk3,871 crore masterplan includes several modern and unconventional initiatives.

Under a plan proposed by City Corporation Mayor Shahadat Hossain, key canals would be transformed into boat tourism routes and floating markets, similar to those in Thailand or Venice. Once canals become tourist attractions, illegal occupation and indiscriminate dumping of waste are expected to decline naturally.

The project also proposes constructing 34.75 km of RCC retaining walls and U-shaped concrete channels to prevent canal-bank erosion and reduce silt accumulation. Officials say the design would significantly improve water flow while minimising future sediment build-up.

Using modern equipment, the project targets the removal of around 16.1 lakh cubic metres of silt and waste from the city's remaining 21 neglected canals.

Officials say one of the biggest weaknesses of previous projects was poor coordination among the city corporation, CDA and the Water Development Board.

Although 21 tidal regulators (sluice gates) were constructed, they could not be operated properly because of inadequate logistics and manpower.

Jerina Hossain, a board member of the CDA and an urban planner, told The Business Standard, "The problems existed from the very beginning. The CDA does not have drainage experts, so the work was handed over to the Army. The project was approved without any feasibility study. Poor planning and lack of expertise forced repeated revisions. 

"Initially, it was claimed that improving 36 canals would eliminate waterlogging. Now, as that work nears completion, officials say the remaining 21 canals must also be rehabilitated. Why were all the canals not included from the outset? Even with the new projects, I am not optimistic."

Two new projects

City corporation authority has already completed the preliminary technical and administrative work for the two projects and is preparing to submit the Development Project Proposal (DPP) to the Local Government Division this month.

According to the CCC engineering department, one project, estimated at Tk322 crore, focuses on maintaining and rehabilitating 36 canals already included in ongoing drainage works.

A second, much larger project worth Tk3,549 crore will rehabilitate and upgrade the remaining 21 canals that were excluded from previous waterlogging initiatives.

At a recent meeting, Mayor Shahadat Hossain said the city plans to introduce boating tourism and floating markets on three or four canals to keep waterways free from encroachment. He has instructed the engineering department and other agencies to integrate the planned canal network with the Kalurghat-Karnaphuli Marine Drive corridor to create an international-standard tourism destination.

CDA project criticised over lack of feasibility study

People involved with the project say the CDA's flagship drainage project was fundamentally flawed because it was approved in 2017 without a proper feasibility study or comprehensive planning.

Instead of following Chattogram's 1995 Drainage Masterplan, the project relied largely on a drainage plan prepared by Chattogram WASA. Detailed surveys were conducted only after a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Army Engineering Brigade in 2018, forcing extensive design revisions that delayed implementation from the outset.

The most significant planning flaw was the exclusion of 21 out of the city's 57 canals. As a result, although work on the original 36 canals is nearly complete, many neighbourhoods continue to experience severe waterlogging because the excluded canals remain blocked by bridges, culverts, utility lines and accumulated waste.

Unable to explain why those canals were omitted, the CDA later revised the project design, increasing the cost by 54%, or Tk3,010 crore, to Tk8,626 crore.

Originally scheduled for completion in June 2020, the project deadline has been extended repeatedly until June 2026, and the CDA has now requested another one-year extension. Physical progress currently stands at 95%, with work completed on 30 canals and continuing on the remaining six, while financial progress is 68%.

Because the CDA lacked the technical capacity to implement such a large project, construction was assigned to the Army. However, delays in land acquisition, slow fund releases and prolonged adverse weather significantly hampered progress, leaving the project years behind schedule.

Ahmed Moinuddin, executive engineer and project director at the CDA, told The Business Standard, "The delays were mainly caused by land acquisition complications and adverse weather, which halted construction for almost six months each year. However, we expect to complete the project next year."

Three major projects still behind schedule

Chattogram City Corporation's 2.9-km canal excavation project linking Bahaddarhat Baraipara with the Karnaphuli River, a key recommendation of the 1995 drainage masterplan, has reached 98% physical progress after 12 years, while financial progress stands at 90%.

Initially budgeted at Tk326.84 crore, the project was expected to finish in 2016. However, repeated revisions – mainly because of changes to the land acquisition law – raised the total cost by 304% to Tk1,362.62 crore, with nearly 90% spent on land acquisition.

Project Director Mohammad Farhadul Alam said, "Some road works alongside the canal remain. We plan to complete everything within this year."

The CDA's Kalurghat – Chaktai road and embankment project, approved in 2017, has also suffered repeated delays. Originally estimated at Tk2,310 crore, the cost later rose to Tk2,779.39 crore. Land acquisition disputes, environmental challenges and river-crossing issues have prevented completion despite three deadline extensions to June 2026. The CDA has now requested another year's extension.

Chief Engineer Ahmed Anwarul Nazrul said the project has achieved 90% physical progress and 86% financial progress, expressing hope that it will be completed within the next year.

Meanwhile, the Tk1,620 crore flood control and waterlogging mitigation project undertaken by the Water Development Board in 2019 has also failed to finish within its original seven-year schedule. Its deadline has been extended to June 2027 after the project had to be scaled back because of objections from multiple agencies.

Mohammad Tarikul Alam, project director from the Army Engineering Brigade, said overall physical and financial progress is around 95%. Of the 21 canal-mouth regulators, 17 have been completed, while work continues on the remaining four after earlier delays caused by pending approvals from the Civil Aviation Authority.

He added that about 100 metres of flood protection wall remain to be built. However, since the Water Development Board lacks the capacity to operate all the regulators, discussions are underway for the facilities to be handed over to the city corporation through inter-ministerial coordination. These issues prompted the one-year extension.