Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Friday said a new model has been initiated as a pilot project in two wards of Patenga to resolve water crisis in the city.

“Chattogram city dwellers have been experiencing crisis of clean water…Residents in marginalised wards are enduring significant difficulties due to this water shortage, which emerged as a major concern for the community,” he said.

The minister said this while addressing as the chief guest at the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the project at the Radisson Blu Hotel in the city on Friday morning.

The MoU focused on establishing a new public-private partnership (PPP) model to enhance the quality of water supply services for the underprivileged population of the city.

According to the agreement, Chattogram WASA will collaborate with Max Foundation Bangladesh and Max Social Enterprise Limited. The three entities have signed a three-year MoU to this end.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and Jan van der Linden, deputy head of mission (Head of Trade and Development) at the Netherlands Embassy witnessed the signing ceremony.

Israfil Khosru represented the Chattogram City Corporation, providing insights into the current water supply situation in Wards 40 and 41.

Engineer Selim Md Jane Alam, managing director of Chattogram WASA, Dr ATM Tariqul Islam, country director of Max Foundation Bangladesh, and Yamin Faruk, managing director of Max Social Enterprise Limited signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.

The signing ceremony was also witnessed by EJ Kruzen, first secretary for water and climate affairs at the Netherlands Embassy, which is offering financial and technical support for this initiative.

The finance minister said, “It is the duty of the government to ensure that clean and safe drinking water reaches the homes of the citizens. In line with this duty, a new pilot initiative is being launched in North Patenga and South Patenga, located on the outskirts of the city.”

In this context, he said the government is committed to fulfilling all fundamental needs of the people of the country. But, it is not possible to achieve this alone, cooperation from all concerned is crucial to this end.

Expressing happiness over the project, he said The Netherlands Embassy, Max Foundation, Max Social Enterprise, and Chattogram WASA will collaborate on this project.