Bangladesh’s plan to build a dam on the Ganges River to ease water shortages in the southwest coastal region hangs in the balance as India has yet to accept the plan.
Bangladesh started work on the proposed Padma Barrage Project during the tenure of the previous ruling Awami League government in the late 1990s.
The country has already completed a feasibility study and the design for the proposed 2.1-km-long dam, due to be constructed at Pangsha in Rajbari, about 100km downstream from the Farakka Barrage in India’s West Bengal state.
Water scarcity and water salinity - made worse by climate change - are common problems in the region, which is why Bangladesh has given the barrage project top priority.
Experts say salinity is on the rise in the southwest due to sea-level rise from global warning. The proposed dam would release water through river channels to help dilute the salt levels.
However, experts say it will be difficult to push forward with the project in the absence of support from India.
Indian objections
New Delhi sent a letter to the Bangladesh government in early 2015 saying Indian technical experts had evaluated project documents sent by Dhaka and were concerned the dam could cause flooding in India.
The Ganges flows out of India on flat terrain from West Bengal. India in the letter predicted that even a slight increase in the river’s water level would cause huge submergence in areas of India bordering Bangladesh.
New Delhi asked Dhaka to send the full feasibility study, including scientific modelling, so it could be sure there would be no increase in water levels on Indian territory.
When contacted, Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud said all the documents requested by India were sent last April, but New Delhi had yet to respond.
During a visit to India in November, Mahmud met his Indian counterpart, Uma Bharati, who assured him of a response soon.
It will be a hard task for Bangladesh to implement the large dam alone, which is why it has sought cooperation from India, experts say.
The two countries are currently locked in a range of political squabbles over water, including over how to share the waters of the Teesta, another cross-boundary river.
At a meeting with the outgoing Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh in October, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina emphasised the importance of engaging India in the dam project.
Chinese backing?
According to the feasibility study, around $4bn will be required to implement the project over a seven-year period, but the government has yet to find the funds.
Minister Mahmud said the cost of the barrage project would be recovered within five years through increased agricultural and fish production in the Padma-dependent area, as well as the 113 megawatts of hydropower the project is expected to generate.
A Chinese firm, Hydrochina Corporation, has expressed interest in building the dam, and has already held several meetings with the concerned ministry to discuss financing for the project.
According to Hydrochina Corporation officials, the Chinese government is willing to provide $20bn in concessional loans to South Asian nations over the next five years.
“We are keen to implement the proposed project. Funding could be managed with government-to-government negotiations,” said Zhao Yang, business development manager for Hydrochina Corporation.
The barrage would create a reservoir 165km long, covering 62,500 hectares and with a capacity of some 2.9bn cubic litres of water.
According to the minister, the water would be diverted to 26 districts through 123 regional rivers.
The reservoir’s water would be used throughout the year, regulated by water control structures on rivers, to meet demand for irrigation, fisheries, navigation and salinity control.
Acting project director Rowshan Ali Khan said the release of water from the reservoir through the Ganges basin river system would help manage siltation problems in river channels and facilitate drainage.
It would also preserve biodiversity and forest resources in the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, he added.