Expression of Interest are invited for Institutional and Financial Performance Assessment of Regional Urban Centers in Bangladesh The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) through the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) has been implementing the Bangladesh Municipal Water Supply and Sanitation Project (BMWSSP) for the provision of safe and sustainable water supply and sanitation services (WSS) in 30 municipalities. Financed by the World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the project has invested in institutional strengthening and capacity building for DPHE and the municipalities, construction and operation of water supply infrastructure, including bulk water and treatment, and piped water distribution network; provision of fecal sludge treatment facilities, household and public toilets; and critical drainage infrastructure in these municipalities. Among the notable achievements of the project have been the engagement of private operators to provide day-to-day operations and maintenance of the water supply services, public toilets, and fecal sludge management facilities to ensure efficient services and financial sustainability. In addition, the project provided a launching pad for scaling up access to sustainable WSS services in medium to large cities through the adoption of: (i) model by-laws for planning and provision of WSS services by urban local governments including setting of cost-recovery tariffs; (ii) ring-fencing WSS accounts, implementation of WSS accounting software, billing, and internet/mobile phone payment interfaces; and (iii) creation of the DPHEs Municipal Support Circle (MSC) to provide support to all municipalities for capacity building, planning new capital investments, and strengthening operations and maintenance of existing WSS schemes. Having created this support structure, the GoB intends to focus on improving access to quality and sustainable WSS services in 8 additional cities of regional economic importance. These include: a) Four City Corporations[1]: Cumilla, Mymensingh, Rangpur and Bogura; b) Three district-level municipalities: Dinajpur, Jhenaidah and Jashore; and c) One Upazila-level municipality of Shyamnagar These corporations and municipalities, in addition to their governance and urban service delivery roles, are legally responsible for providing water and sanitation services (WSS). However, they generally lack the technical, organizational, and financial capacity to deliver and sustain highquality services. Their performance is further constrained by the prevailing sectors governance, policy, and regulatory environment. Most cities operate rudimentary piped water systems that cover only parts of the urban area and function unreliably. A large share of households and businesses rely on self-provision, particularly individual borewells. While fecal sludge management systems have been introduced in some cities over the past decade, coverage remains incomplete, and haphazard dumping persists. Inadequate asset management; aging and damaged infrastructure; intermittent water supply; weak institutional and financial capacity; and the absence of formal regulation continue to undermine service delivery. Poor asset and service-level data, weak monitoring, and limited incentives and accountability mechanisms compound these challenges. The GoB has invested substantial public resources in municipal WSS, but these investments have focused primarily on asset creation, with disappointing results. Many assets do not meet quality standards, contributing to poor customer service. Municipalities typically lack the technical and financial support required for operations and maintenance (O&M), which is especially critical given limited local capacity. As a result, more than 80 percent of households remain unconnected to the piped network, average supply is only 68 hours per day, and cost recovery is below 80 percent. This has created a vicious cycle: weak infrastructure leads to poor O&M and inadequate services, which in turn increases municipalities dependence on GoB grants. The core problem is a financing model that prioritizes capital expenditures while neglecting institutional incentives, technical capacity, and ongoing financial support necessary for sustainable service delivery. A shift to lifecycle financingcovering both capital and O&Mshould be critically examined and developed to enable sustainable scaleup of WSS. A consultancy has been engaged to undertake feasibility and design studies for WSS infrastructure in these cities. To ensure that future investments are well implemented and deliver sustainable outcomes, the Bank intends to commission a consulting firm to conduct institutional and financial performance assessments of the concerned corporations and municipalities, identify priority areas for strengthening, and prepare action plans and financing modalities as part of proposed operations to enhance WSS service delivery and sustainability. Tender Link : https://wbgeprocure-rfxnow.worldbank.org/rfxnow/public/advertisement/6149/view.html
