Dhaka approves Padma barrage: Ecological costs could reshape South Asia water power map
Dhaka: Bangladesh has approved the Padma Barrage, a $2.8 billion river engineering project on the Padma river in Rajbari district. The approval comes months before the 1996 Ganga Water Sharing Treaty with India expires in December 2026.
The barrage will be 2.1 km long with 78 spillway gates, navigation locks, fish passages and associated embankments. It will impound roughly 2.9 billion cubic metres of monsoon water for redistribution during the dry season. Bangladesh says it will irrigate 2.88 million hectares of land, revive dying rivers in the salinity-hit southwest, and add around 0.45% to GDP. The project also includes 113 MW of hydropower and will cover 19 districts across Rajshahi, Dhaka and Barishal divisions.
Officials have described the project as a move to negate the negative impact of India’s Farakka Barrage upstream. Water Resources Minister Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee stated one objective is to combat salinity, revive distributary rivers and support irrigation. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said reduced river flow has created problems as areas around the river gradually dry up, and warned that salinity intrusion is damaging the Sundarbans and surrounding ecosystems.
