Khulna: The work for setting up a surface water treatment plant, the third largest in Bangladesh, has got underway in Khulna city.

The plant along with a reservoir, biggest in the southern region, for preserving treated water is being constructed on 65 acres of land in Samantasena area of Rupsha upazila.

Khulna Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (KWASA) is implementing the project with the financial support of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), involving Tk 485.64 crore.

Project sources said the reservoir will have the capacity to contain 77.70 crore litres of water and purify 11 crore litres of water every day.

Sources at KWASA said living of the residents of Khulna is largely dependent on groundwater.  

The KWASA authorities supply water from 81 tube-wells.  

City dwellers suffer a lot as the water level falls drastically during the summer, sources said.

KWASA sources said water will be collected from the River Madhumati and then it will be supplied to the city dwellers after purification.

The main package of the project is to set up a water treatment plant with the capacity of 11 crore litres of water.

Besides, a reservoir will be constructed for preserving water to meet the demand of the city dwellers in the dry season.

The international development organisation JAICA will provide Tk485.64 crore for implementing the project in association with the contractor company China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd.

During a recent visit, this correspondent found Chinese and local workers busy working to construct the reservoir.  

Some 1,900 iron plates measuring twenty-two metres each, out of the total 2,600 imported from China, have been set in the retention wall of the reservoir through pilling.  

Khan Selim Ahmed, manager of the project, said the water will be collected from the River Madhumati in Bagerhat and it will be kept in the reservoir directly after purification.  

Once the project is implemented, the residents of the city will get relief from the water crisis as the plant will have the capacity to treat about 11 crore litres of water every day, he said.

Mohammad Abdullah, managing director of KWASA, terming the progress of the work good said its implementation was first delayed as the land acquisition could not be done in time.  

Already 25 percent work has been completed and the full work is expected to be finished by December next year, he added.