Padma Barrage: Tk 344.97 Billion Project Approved

 

Padma Barrage: Tk 344.97 Billion Project Approved

The government has approved the “Padma Barrage (1st Phase)” project with an estimated cost of more than Tk 344.97 billion to restore major river systems, reduce salinity intrusion, strengthen irrigation, and improve ecological sustainability across vast areas of the country.

The approval came at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), held today at the Cabinet Division Conference Room at the Bangladesh Secretariat, with ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman presiding over the meeting.

Recommended by the Planning Commission, the mega project was placed before the ECNEC to revive river systems, reduce salinity intrusion in the southwest, improve irrigation facilities, and restore ecological balance in the Sundarbans.

The project, undertaken by the Ministry of Water Resources and to be implemented by the Bangladesh Water Development Board, has been estimated at over Tk 344.97 billion and will be fully financed through government funding (GoB grant). The implementation period has been set from July 2026 to June 2033.

Speaking to reporters after the ECNEC meeting, Water Resources Minister Md. Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee described the Padma Barrage project as highly significant for the nation, saying it would benefit nearly one-third of the country’s territory and around 70 million people. “Since this project has immense public importance and was designed considering the interests of the people, it was approved by the ECNEC,” he said.

According to the Planning Commission, the project will cover 19 districts under the Khulna, Dhaka, Rajshahi, and Barishal divisions.

The project has been designed to restore the flow and navigability of major river systems, including the Hisna-Mathabhanga, Gorai-Madhumati, Chandana-Barashia, Baral, and Ichamati rivers, many of which have suffered severe degradation over the decades.

Officials said the project also aims to reduce salinity intrusion in the southwestern districts of Satkhira, Khulna, and Bagerhat; ensure freshwater supply for the Sundarbans ecosystem; improve biodiversity conservation; reduce waterlogging in areas including Bhobodah in Jashore; enhance drainage systems; recharge groundwater; and reduce arsenic contamination.

The project is also expected to expand irrigation facilities in the southwestern, mid-western, and northwestern regions through support for the ongoing Ganges-Kobadak (G-K) Irrigation Project and the proposed North Rajshahi Irrigation Project. In addition, the initiative is expected to generate employment opportunities and facilitate planned land development and urbanization.

The Planning Commission said the project aligns with the government’s Election Manifesto-2026, particularly commitments related to implementing the Padma Barrage, preventing river erosion, conserving water resources, reducing salinity in agricultural lands, ensuring flood protection, restoring natural water flow through dredging programs, and improving irrigation efficiency.

Under the project, a 2.1-kilometre main Padma Barrage along with associated infrastructure will be constructed. The infrastructure will include 78 spillways, 18 undersluices, two fish passes, navigation locks, guide embankments, and approach embankments.

The project will also include the construction of Gorai, Chandana, and Hisna offtake structures, dredging of 135.60 kilometres of the Gorai-Madhumati river system, re-excavation of 246.46 kilometres of drainage channels in the Hisna river system, and construction of 180 kilometres of afflux embankments.

Two hydropower plants with a combined generation capacity of 113 megawatts are also planned under the project.

Once implemented, the project is expected to contribute 0.45 percent to the country’s GDP, with an estimated direct annual return of Tk 80 billion. It will also ensure irrigation water for around 2.88 million hectares of net farmland in the greater Kushtia, Faridpur, Jashore, Khulna, Barishal, Pabna, and Rajshahi regions. In addition, the barrage is expected to help retain 2,900 million cubic metres of water in the Padma River.

According to the project background paper, Bangladesh’s southwestern and northwestern Padma-dependent regions account for nearly 37 percent of the country’s territory and are home to around one-third of the population.

The document noted that India constructed the Farakka Barrage during the 1970s to divert 35,000–40,000 cusecs of water from the Padma/Ganges during the dry season to the Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system to improve the navigability of the Kolkata Port.

As a result of upstream water withdrawal at Farakka, dry-season flow in the Padma River within Bangladesh has declined significantly, causing major river systems in the southwest and northwest to dry up. Consequently, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, navigation, domestic water supply, and the broader ecosystem in these regions have been severely affected.

The Planning Commission observed that reduced freshwater flow has also increased salinity levels in rivers and canals in the southern region during the dry season, posing growing threats to livelihoods, biodiversity, and the Sundarbans ecosystem.

The commission emphasized that sustainable water resource management is essential for increasing agricultural, forestry, and fisheries productivity and ensuring balanced economic growth in the greater Rajshahi, Pabna, Kushtia, Jashore, Khulna, Faridpur, and Barishal regions, where the Padma remains the primary source of surface freshwater.