Water and Environment
Water-technology interaction is critical in tackling water-related concerns and optimising resource management in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh, with its large river networks and agricultural dependency, has a number of water-related challenges, including flooding, scarcity, and water quality concerns. Water for drinking, industrial usage, or agricultural uses is sourced from both the ground (approx. 69%) and the surface (approx. 30%) levels. Groundwater levels are rapidly diminishing due to misuse and extraction. At the same time, water quality has been dropping for both surface and groundwater due to arsenic poisoning, saltwater intrusion, and land-based polluting activities including various industrial operations.
Furthermore, Bangladesh has been struck particularly hard by climate change. Using technology to address these difficulties and efficiently manage water resources has become a national priority.
Market Insights:
• In 2022, the gravity-based water purifier market in Bangladesh was worth $76.7 million. Looking ahead, IMARC Group forecasts the market to reach US$ 157.9 million by 2028, with a CAGR of 12.7%from 2023 to 2028.
• Domestic water consumption is expected to double by 2030, with industrial demand increasing by 200% and irrigation demand increasing by 46%.
• The volume of Bottled Water is predicted to reach 7.62 billion Litres by 2027. In 2024, the Bottled Water category is predicted to rise by 3.2% in terms of volume.
• Bangladesh has the largest Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP) in South Asia.
• Many firms from various industries are already investing in Bangladesh to adequately manage the water concerns, such as decentralised water treatment plants (WTP), effluent treatment plants (ETP), smart pumps, full-service pump suppliers, and so on.
Opportunities:
• The Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan (2021) seeks USD 80 billion in FDI for environmentally resilient projects in energy, water, transportation, supply linkages, and value chains. Which signals the market will grow exponentially and amplifies the opportunity to invest in Bangladesh.
• Infrastructure projects can receive tax exemptions for 10 years ranging from 20 to 90 percent for water treatment facilities.
• Because Bangladesh has a thriving Ready Made Garments (RMG) export business, with over 4000 factories steadily complying with EU due diligence, the demand for Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP) in tier 1 and tier 2 factories is huge, existing ones want to increase efficiency while some want to move to new ETPs. There are opportunities in wet processing, water treatment, water recycling, zero liquid discharge, membrane technology, reverse/forward osmosis, smart water pump, waste heat recovery and so much more. Similar opportunities are open to other industries covering pharma and leather.
• The government has prioritised wastewater solutions. The national budget includes separate allocations for both water resources as well as water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Furthermore, the government of Bangladesh has already approved more than 100 Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in various areas around the nation, with central water treatment facilities (WTP) planned.
• Because policies are already in place, manufacturers, businesses, and stakeholders will eventually be forced to adopt more efficient water usage and treatment technology.