The government has cleared the first phase of the Padma Barrage project, a nearly BDT 345 billion scheme to store water in the Padma during the dry season, revive five connected rivers, and cut salinity in the Sundarbans. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the project at a meeting on Wednesday, chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Officials estimate the barrage will store about 2,900 million cubic metres of water in the Padma, sustaining flow in roughly 623 small and large rivers across the region during the dry months. Annual rice production in the area is expected to subsequently climb by 2.4 million tonnes and fish output by 250,000 tonnes.

The structure will rise at Pangsha in Rajbari district, project documents show. The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) will execute the water resources ministry scheme. Total estimated cost stands at BDT 504.43 billion, with the first phase accounting for BDT 344.97 billion. The government will fully fund the work, which is set to start this July and conclude in June 2033.

Abdul Hamid, director of the Padma Barrage survey project and additional chief engineer of BWDB, told Bonik Barta: “The project has been approved by ECNEC. A government order will follow, with work on the project due to begin in July. Once implemented, it’ll resolve the water crisis in the country’s south-west and north and play a big role in agriculture and fish farming. Surrounding rivers will be revived and the excessive salinity of the Sundarbans will diminish.”

The project document adds that the barrage is designed to guarantee water flow from January to May during the dry season in the Ichamati-Mathabhanga, Garai-Madhumati, Chandana-Barasia, Baral and Ichamati river systems. It will also secure water for the Godagari pump house, the Ganga-Kapotaksha irrigation project and the Rooppur nuclear power plant. Irrigation will reach roughly 2.9 million hectares of farmland across Kushtia, Faridpur, Jashore, Khulna, Barisal, Pabna, Rajshahi and adjoining districts. The scheme sets a target of 113 megawatts of hydropower and includes a multi-purpose corridor atop the barrage carrying a road, power transmission lines and a gas pipeline.

The project’s own targets state that the barrage will secure water for roughly 2.88 million hectares of cultivable land in the same districts, lifting annual rice production by 2.39 million tonnes and fish output by 234,000 tonnes.

During construction, the project will generate about 122.5 million person-days of employment for around 47,950 workers. Direct and indirect job creation is put at 927,000. The plans also include seven satellite towns and modern rural settlements on 3,450 acres for some 150,000 families.

The Development Project Proposal claims the scheme will play a significant economic role, generating about BDT 80 billion in direct annual return.

Water Resources Minister Md Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee described the Padma Barrage as the government’s “mastermind project”. “The Padma Barrage is our mastermind project,” he told reporters at the secretariat after the ECNEC meeting on May 13. “This project worth around BDT 350 billion has been approved. It’ll benefit one-third of Bangladesh’s territory, 24 districts and 70 million people — 37 percent of the total population. I believe its implementation will bring the greatest benefit to the south-west and north and make a huge contribution to national revenue.”

The minister added: “Because of the Farakka Barrage, we get only 15 percent of the water in that region, which triggers drought during the dry season. This Padma Barrage will allow us to deliver benefits to the people — whether for farming, reducing the Sundarbans’ salinity or easing waterlogging. The rivers connected to the Padma will no longer dry up. The government approved the project with all this in mind. It was also a BNP election manifesto pledge and the prime minister’s promise.”

Planning Commission records trace the idea of a barrage on the Padma’s Bangladesh stretch to the 1960s. The first survey came in 1961. Four pre-feasibility studies followed between 1960 and 2000. In 2002, the commission recommended building the structure at either Thakurbari in Kushtia or Pangsha in Rajbari. Detailed feasibility and design work ran from 2009 to 2016, after which the water development board regularly refreshed the data. The plan then dropped out of discussion after 2018. The July 2024 uprising returned it to the table. The former interim government attempted to secure approval last January but retreated at the final moment, citing the sheer size of the budget. Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud, then planning adviser, remarked that an elected government would implement the project. Ahead of the February national election, BNP placed the barrage in its manifesto, and current Prime Minister Tarique Rahman announced it at an election rally in Rajshahi.

Dr Jahangir Alam, an agricultural economist and researcher, described the approval as a significant positive for the country. “It’s big positive news for the country’s agriculture and fisheries,” he told Bonik Barta. “The barrage will boost farm production-marketing and create jobs. The region has vast arable land that turns into desert during the dry season due to a lack of irrigation. If we can store Padma’s water, that water will be used for cultivation. The rivers will hold water, making it possible to raise agricultural output.”