The largest project plan to date for water quality conservation-waste management and quality development
By Adnan Tazvir
The largest project of the country is being undertaken to improve the quality of the environment. Mr. Shahab Uddin, Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, said that the biggest transformational project so far is being undertaken with the World Bank’s help for the quality development of the environment.
Speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural workshop on preparing the Bangladesh Environmental Sustainability and Transformation (BEST) project at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel on Thursday, January 14, 2021, he said the government is working continuously to give a better environment along with urbanization and industrialization.
A large transformational project called Bangladesh Environmental Sustainability and Transformation (BEST) is being undertaken with the assistance of the World Bank for the quality development of the country’s overall environment. The project will play an important role in improving the country’s overall environment, including air and water quality and waste management. However, the cost and implementation period of the project was not disclosed.
The environment minister said the project would also help enhance the Department of Environment and other concerned agencies’ qualifications. The project’s activities will be climate-sensitive and will help reduce the excesses and prevalence of climate change as well as maintain balance. The project will solve the problem of environmental pollution in an integrated manner.
The Minister said the project would be successfully implemented through the active participation of other concerned ministries and agencies, including local government, industry, communication, and health. Project activities such as reducing air pollution, water pollution, waste, and institutional capacity building will help the country’s environment and the well-being of our people.
Ziaul Hasan, Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, presided over the workshop and spoke as a special guest- Begum Habibun Nahar, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Environment, Forests Climate Change, Maran Kumar Chakraborty, Additional Secretary Local Government Department, Md. Zafarullah, Additional Secretary Ministry of Industries, Kazi Jebunnesa, Additional Secretary, Department of Health Services, AKM Rafiq Ahmed, Director General, Department of Environment, Jain Ru, Senior Environmentalist at the World Bank and Suiko Yoshizima.
Dipankar Bar, a senior information officer at the ministry, said the project cost could range from 250 million USD to 600 million USD, or between TK. 2.5 billion and TK. 5 billion, depending on the need.
