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. 2021 Mar 9;18(5):2755.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18052755.

Exploring Private Sector Engagement for Faecal Sludge Emptying and Transport Business in Khulna, Bangladesh

Shirish Singh  1 , Ankita Gupta  2 , Muhammed Alamgir  3 , Damir Brdjanovic  1   4
Affiliations
Free PMC article

Exploring Private Sector Engagement for Faecal Sludge Emptying and Transport Business in Khulna, Bangladesh

Shirish Singh et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .
Free PMC article

Abstract

In Khulna, Bangladesh, mechanical faecal sludge (FS) emptying and transport (E&T) service is provided by community development committees (CDCs) and the Khulna City Corporation (KCC). Without considering capital expenditure and depreciation, financial analysis for one year revealed that a CDC-1 m3 vacutug made a profit of Bangladeshi taka (BDT) 145,780 (USD $1746) whereas a KCC-2 m3 vacutug was in the loss of BDT 218,179 (USD $2613). There is a need to engage the private sector for sustainable service provision. Some of the key elements of enabling the environment for private sector engagement are policy/strategy, institutional and regulatory framework, implementation capacity, and financial viability. Existing policy/strategy/frameworks acknowledged the need and suggested plans for private sector engagement, and decentralised authority to city corporations. With increasing private-public partnership projects and collaboration in the sanitation sector, capacity of the KCC and the private sector are increasing. Financial viability of the FS E&T business is primarily dependent on the number of trips and the emptying fee. For the E&T business to be financially viable, a 2 m3 vacutug should make six trips/day (internal rate of return (IRR)-13%, discount rate-6.5%) with an emptying fee of BDT 750 (USD $9)/m3. Despite the lack of operative guidelines for faecal sludge management (FSM), enabling the environment for private sector engagement in FS E&T business in Khulna seems favourable.

Keywords: emptying and transport; enabling environment; faecal sludge; financial analysis; private sector.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Khulna City Corporation (KCC) vacutug.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of expenses—1 m3 vacutug.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of expenses—2 m3 vacutug.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Impact of emptying fee on internal rate of return (IRR).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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