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Water Resources Minister Md Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie has said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will formally inaugurate the Padma Barrage project sometime next year.
The minister made the remarks on Friday afternoon while inspecting the Padma Barrage project in Habaspur, Pangsha, Rajbari.
He said the project had already been approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) and was part of the prime minister’s election manifesto.
“The Padma Barrage project is a mastermind mega project aimed at bringing about an economic revolution,” the minister said.
He said implementation of the project would transform the economies of 24 districts and bring about an agricultural revolution. It would also facilitate electricity generation, boost fish farming and increase crop production, among other benefits.
Prime Minister’s Economic and Planning Adviser Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir said the guarantee clause of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty had been achieved under the leadership of Ziaur Rahman, who also safeguarded Bangladesh’s water-management interests at the United Nations.
He said former prime minister Khaleda Zia had also sought to bring about major changes in water resources management.
“Following that legacy, the prime minister has included the Teesta Master Plan and Padma Barrage in the election manifesto and sought transformative changes in water resources management,” Titumir said.
He added that the Padma Barrage project would pave the way for implementation of the Teesta Master Plan in the future.
The Padma Barrage project was approved at an ECNEC meeting chaired by Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat on May 13.
At the time, the water resources minister said the estimated cost of constructing the Padma Barrage was around Tk35,000 crore. The five-year project will be fully funded by the government and is expected to directly benefit around 70 million people across 24 districts.
