The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved the long-delayed Padma Barrage Project, marking a major initiative aimed at restoring river flow, reducing salinity, and improving agriculture and biodiversity in south-western part of the country.
The approval came at a meeting on Wednesday. The Tk 34,497.25 crore project had faced several postponements and was previously placed on the ECNEC agenda multiple times without final clearance.
Officials said the project is designed to conserve and regulate water from the Padma River during the dry season in order to restore freshwater flow to affected river systems. The implementation period has been set from July 2026 to June 2033.
According to planning officials, the overall project cost is projected at Tk 50,443 crore. The initiative is expected to benefit about 37 per cent of the country's population through improved agriculture, fisheries, and environmental conditions.
The project aims to revive several degraded river systems, including the Gorai-Madhumati, Ichamati, Baral, and Chandana-Barashia rivers, which have suffered reduced flow over decades.
Officials said it will also help reduce salinity intrusion in coastal districts such as Khulna, Satkhira, and Bagerhat, improve freshwater availability for the Sundarbans ecosystem, enhance groundwater recharge, and reduce waterlogging in affected areas such as Jashore's Bhobodah region.
The project is widely seen as a response to long-term changes in river flow linked to upstream water diversion following the construction of the Farakka Barrage in India in 1975, which significantly reduced dry-season flow in the Padma system.
The project also comes amid uncertainty over regional water-sharing arrangements, with the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty set to expire in December this year.
Officials said the project has been designed to cover 19 districts across Khulna, Dhaka, Rajshahi, and Barishal divisions.
In the same ECNEC meeting, several other projects were approved, including cultural infrastructure development, healthcare facility upgrades, ICT infrastructure expansion, social welfare institutions, military housing, and the Chattogram City Outer Ring Road project.
