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Water Resources Minister Md Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee has said the Padma Barrage project will bring a major economic transformation to 24 districts across the southern, western and northern regions of the country.
He made the remarks on Friday while visiting the proposed site of the Padma Barrage project at Habaspur in Pangsha upazila of Rajbari.
The minister said the project would boost power generation, fisheries and agricultural production, contributing to broader economic growth.
He also said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is expected to visit Rajbari in January, February or March next year to inaugurate construction of the barrage.
Anee said former prime minister Khaleda Zia conducted a feasibility study for the Padma Barrage project in 2004. After a long delay, the project was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in 2026 and is now moving towards implementation under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s leadership.
Referring to the canal excavation programme initiated during the tenure of former president Ziaur Rahman, he said the government had resumed canal re-excavation across the country.
He said around 20,000 kilometres of canals had already been re-excavated in line with the government’s election manifesto.
The minister was accompanied by Prime Minister’s Finance and Planning Adviser Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, State Minister for Water Resources Farhad Hossain Azad, State Minister for Cultural Affairs Ali Nawaz Mahmud Khaiyam and Rajbari-2 MP Md Harun-or-Rashid, among others.
The ECNEC approved the first-phase Padma Barrage construction project on May 13. The project has an estimated cost of Tk 34,497 crore.