Padma Barrage: A strategic investment in Bangladesh’s water security
The government’s approval of the Padma Barrage Project at the ECNEC meeting on 13 May 2026 marks an important step towards strengthening Bangladesh’s water security and supporting long-term socio-economic development.
The project is expected to directly benefit around 37 per cent of the country’s territory, while its wider economic and environmental benefits could extend across the nation.
Given its potential importance, the project should now be implemented efficiently, transparently and within the planned timeframe.
The Padma Barrage is a proposed dam on the Padma River at Pangsha in Rajbari.
It will be implemented by the Bangladesh Water Development Board under the Ministry of Water Resources in phases.
Construction was scheduled to begin in July 2026, with completion targeted for June 2033.
The proposed barrage will be 2.1 kilometres long, with 78 spillway gates and 18 undersluice gates.
The project will also include around 180 kilometres of afflux embankments, dredging and re-excavation of 136 kilometres of river channels, and two fish passes.
The project is expected to cover 163 upazilas in 26 districts across four divisions. In its first phase, people in 120 upazilas across 19 districts of Dhaka, Rajshahi, Barishal and Khulna divisions are expected to benefit directly.
These include Kushtia, Meherpur, Chuadanga, Jhenaidah, Magura, Jashore, Narail, Bagerhat, Khulna, Satkhira, Rajbari, Faridpur, Gopalganj, Pabna, Rajshahi, Natore, Naogaon, Chapainawabganj and Pirojpur. The project is expected to have a direct or indirect impact on around 70 million people.
The idea of a Padma barrage is not new. After India began constructing the Farakka Barrage in 1961, the then East Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority conducted a preliminary feasibility assessment for a Padma barrage.
Following the commissioning of Farakka in 1975, concerns over dry-season water availability in Bangladesh became more prominent. Several studies were subsequently conducted between 1960 and 2000 to identify a suitable location.
The BNP government initiated a fresh effort after coming to power in 2001, while an international and local team began a feasibility study in 2005, completing it in 2013. The project was subsequently put on hold.
The Farakka Barrage, constructed across the Ganges in West Bengal, was completed in 1975 and has long been a major concern for Bangladesh because of its impact on downstream water availability.
Although Bangladesh and India signed the 30-year Ganges Water Sharing Treaty in December 1996, disagreements over dry-season flows have continued.
The two countries have also yet to reach a final agreement on sharing the waters of the Teesta.
These longstanding issues demonstrate the importance of Bangladesh developing greater capacity to manage and conserve the water available within its territory.
The effects of reduced river flows are particularly serious during the dry season.
Parts of Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj face rising salinity, declining soil moisture and falling groundwater levels.
Reduced flows also affect irrigation, fisheries and inland water transport.
The Ganges-Kapotaksha Irrigation Project in Kushtia, for example, faces difficulties when river levels fall, while declining fish populations can affect the livelihoods of fishing communities.
The Padma Barrage could help address some of these challenges by storing water during the monsoon and making it available during the dry season. Around 2.9 billion cubic metres of water could reportedly be stored in the Padma River.
This stored water could help revive the Hijna-Mathabhanga, Gorai-Madhumati, Chandana-Barasia, Baral and Ichamati river systems.
The project is also expected to facilitate irrigation across approximately 2.9 million hectares of land in parts of Kushtia, Faridpur, Jashore, Khulna, Barishal, Pabna and Rajshahi.
The potential economic benefits are substantial. Increased irrigation could raise agricultural production, with projected annual increases of around 2.4 million tonnes of rice. Fish production could also increase significantly.
The project includes a proposed 113-megawatt hydropower plant, which could contribute to electricity generation.
Better water management could further support agriculture, fisheries, forestry, inland transport, drinking-water availability and planned land development.
Lower salinity and improved river health could also benefit local ecosystems, while the development of water-based infrastructure may create opportunities for tourism and employment.
The project is estimated to cost Tk 50,443 crore and 64 lakh in total. Its first phase, expected to take seven years, has been allocated Tk 34,497 crore and 25 lakh, with the full cost to be financed from the national treasury.
Given the scale of this investment, careful project management, environmental safeguards, financial accountability and regular monitoring will be essential.
Bangladesh has spent decades negotiating transboundary water issues with India, with limited progress on several longstanding concerns.
While diplomatic engagement and existing water-sharing mechanisms must continue, Bangladesh also needs to make the best possible use of the water resources available within its own territory.
The Padma Barrage can be part of that strategy by storing monsoon water and managing it for use during periods of scarcity.
The project should therefore be viewed not simply as a response to Farakka or a bilateral water dispute, but as a long-term investment in Bangladesh’s water and food security.
At the same time, the proposed Teesta barrage and related water-management initiatives deserve serious and immediate consideration.
If implemented responsibly, the Padma Barrage could strengthen irrigation, fisheries, navigation, energy generation and environmental management across a large part of the country.
Its successful completion could consequently become an important milestone in Bangladesh’s long-term socio-economic development.
(The writer is former Deputy Director General, Bangladesh Ansar and VDP).
