Technical Cooperation

Training Course in Japan for the Bangladesh State Project to Improve Air Quality Management new!

Apr.1‚ 2026

Yuji AOYAGI‚ Director of the Technical Cooperation Division

Observation Tour of the Kitakyushu Hiagari Facility

Bangladesh‚ and its capital Dhaka in particular‚ suffer from serious air pollution‚ with soot and dust from brick and cement factories‚ and particulate matter stirred up from roads‚ becoming a huge challenge. In order to improve this state of affairs‚ JICA has started a technical cooperation project to support the enhancement of air quality monitoring and fixed source control measures‚ and I am participating in this project as an expert in boosting the administration’s management capabilities.

Although the field survey was postponed due to the presidential election‚ we held a training course in Japan in advance of the survey so that participants could learn about Japanese air quality regulations and government initiatives. The participants were from the Bangladesh Ministry of Environment‚ Forest and Climate Change‚ where they are responsible for measures to counter air pollution in Dhaka and Chattogram.


Inspection Tour of the Nippon Steel Blast Furnace Slag Cement Plant
Following training held in the Tokyo suburbs‚ a further two days of training were held in Kitakyushu on December 15 and 16‚ 2025.
On the first day‚ Mr. Nagihara of the City of Kitakyushu Environmental Monitoring Department talked about initiatives to counter air pollution in Kitakyushu‚ and the participants asked many questions about the content of his talk‚ which was based on practical work. In the afternoon‚ we went on a field trip to the Nippon Steel Blast Furnace Slag Cement plant. Measures against particulate matter are a huge challenge for the Bangladeshi participants‚ and they seem to have found the Japanese initiatives very instructive. We were blessed with fine weather‚ and the clear view of the plant site from the roof of the administrative building demonstrated how good the air quality is in Kitakyushu.

The next day‚ we visited the Kitakyushu Hiagari Facility to observe the location where exhaust gas is measured. In the afternoon‚ we observed an on-site inspection by the Environmental Monitoring Department. The inspection was largely document based‚ so I provided additional explanations to make the content easier to understand. The participants were especially enthusiastic about matters related to their own area of responsibility and there was a barrage of animated questions. I could really feel how strongly motivated they are regarding measures to counter air pollution.

I am scheduled to visit Bangladesh in May 2026 for a fact-finding survey on air pollution and to check the situation regarding on-site inspections. I will then hold a seminar to boost management capabilities by drawing upon Japanese experience.