Residents of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) are set to bear untold sufferings and face severe traffic disruption as Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) begins excavating more than 500 kilometres (km) of roads under a major sewerage project. WASA's move has raised new concerns over poor coordination among utility agencies.
Under the Dhaka Sanitation Improvement Project, WASA will construct and rehabilitate sewerage networks by excavating around 453km of roads in DSCC and 76km in DNCC in phases.
The Tk 5,187 crore project, jointly financed by the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), began in January this year and is scheduled for completion in 2028.
Excavation has already started in several busy neighbourhoods, including New Market, Azimpur, Kamalapur, Maghbazar, Khilgaon and Motijheel.
For many city dwellers, freshly repaired roads rarely remain intact for long before another agency arrives to dig them up. Urban planners say the recurring problem reflects a long-standing lack of coordination among agencies responsible for underground infrastructure.
Dhaka has witnessed repeated road excavation for years. Between 2017 and 2025, WASA carried out extensive digging under its Water Supply Network Improvement Project to replace ageing pipelines, install new distribution lines and regularise household water connections. Before many of those roads have fully recovered, another large-scale excavation programme is underway.
Traffic police officials say nearly 23 agencies are involved in maintaining and developing Dhaka's roads and underground utilities. The absence of effective coordination often results in the same roads being excavated multiple times for different projects.
Urban planner Professor Adil Muhammad Khan said underground utilities, including water supply lines, sewerage systems, gas pipelines, electricity cables and telecommunications infrastructure, should be planned together before construction begins.
"If underground utility works were coordinated from the outset, roads would not need to be cut repeatedly. It would save public money and spare residents unnecessary suffering," he said.
The latest excavation has coincided with the monsoon season, raising fears of greater public hardship.
Heavy rainfall often turns excavation sites into muddy, waterlogged areas, disrupting traffic and increasing the risk of accidents. Emergency vehicles, including ambulances and fire services, frequently struggle to pass through partially blocked roads.
Residents also complain that construction sites often lack warning signs, safety barriers and information boards indicating when work will be completed.
Sanaul Haque, a resident of Azimpur, said people are rarely informed about construction schedules.
"Roads remain closed for months without notice. There are often no warning signs or timelines. Ordinary people simply have to endure the inconvenience," he said.
WASA Managing Director Aminul Islam acknowledged that repeated road excavation has become a major public concern.
He said the utility plans to work with experts from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) to develop better planning methods to reduce repeated excavation in future projects.
Project Director Mohammad Selim Mia said poor coordination was not solely a technical issue.
According to him, different project approval timelines, funding conditions imposed by development partners and separate administrative procedures often make coordinated implementation difficult.
To minimise public suffering, the government introduced the Dhaka Metropolitan Road Excavation Policy in 2019, requiring phased excavation, safety measures and timely road restoration while discouraging road digging during the monsoon except in emergencies.
Despite the policy, many residents say the rules are rarely followed.
Visits to Khilgaon and New Market found several sites where roads remained partially blocked long after pipe installation had been completed. In some places, excavated sections had only been filled with soil or bricks instead of being permanently restored.
Although agreements between WASA and the two city corporations require damaged roads, footpaths and drains to be restored at the project's expense, previous experience has left many residents sceptical about timely implementation.
Urban planners agree that Dhaka urgently needs a modern sewerage system to address growing environmental and public health challenges.
The project aims to provide around 50,000 new household sewer connections, expand the capacity of the Pagla Sewage Treatment Plant and increase wastewater treatment by about 150 million litres per day.
Professor Adil Muhammad Khan said repeated excavation reflected institutional weaknesses rather than unavoidable development.
"One road should not be dug separately for water supply and then again for sewerage. Underground infrastructure must be planned as a single integrated system. Without coordination, development projects create unnecessary public suffering, waste taxpayers' money and reduce the lifespan of roads," he said.
