Ganga Barrage project

Govt mulls Indian participation

A high-powered Indian technical team is likely to visit Bangladesh towards the end of this month to discuss their involvement in executing the Bangladesh Ganga Barrage Project. After the discussion, the team will also inform Bangladesh whether their country would take part in the project, a top government official told The Independent yesterday.
“Our Prime Minister wants India to participate in the project. We can start work on the project as soon as India responds,” state minister for water resources, Muhammad Nazrul Islam, told this correspondent.
In reply to a query, the minister said the Indian team will arrive in Dhaka within a week or two to discuss the matter. “We've sent all the project documents as India had asked for. Now, both countries will discuss the project,” he added.
When asked about the funding, the minister said, “Money is not a problem. China and Japan have already expressed interest in financing the project. Besides, we hope India and the World Bank (WB) will also extend their cooperation in financing the project.”
Terming India’s decision to send a team to Bangladesh as a “substantial development”, Nazrul Islam said, “Not only Bangladesh, India, too, will benefit from the barrage. India’s participation is needed to implement the project. Besides, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also wants to ensure India’s participation as the project would benefit farmers of both countries.”
According to the water resources ministry, the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) took up the Ganga Barrage Project in 2002 and conducted a pre-feasibility study that year. The BWDB finally got the green light in 2009 and completed the study in December 2012.
It will take seven years to build the 2.1-km barrage, including a railway bridge of the same length, with nine regulators and 10 bridges. The project would help produce 25 lakh tonnes of additional food grains and 2.4 lakh tonnes of fish through a 165-km-long reservoir from Pangsa of Rajbari via Pabna to Chapainawabganj, with 12.5 metres of deep water.
Besides, there will be six hydropower plants in the project area, which will generate 130 megawatt of electricity.
On January 6, 2015, a Chinese company, Hydrochina Corporation, sent a financing proposal for the project to the Economic Relations Division (ERD). Nazrul Islam and Hydrochina Corporation’s vice-president held a discussion on the project on December 11, 2014, where the head of the Chinese delegation expressed interest in funding the project, including providing technical support.
According to the records of the discussion, the vice-president of Hydrochina Corporation had said that the Chinese government was offering USD 20 billion concessional loans to South Asian countries over the next five years. According to the corporation’s assessment, USD 4 billion would be required to implement the barrage project.
The corporation’s vice-president had informed Bangladeshi officials that “the interest rate of Exim Bank, China, was 1.5 per cent, commitment fee 0.2 per cent, and management fee 0.2 per cent. The repayment period will be 16 years and the grace period will be four years. Other rules will be followed in accordance with those of both countries.”
The barrage would help meet the demand for water of 118 small and medium-sized projects, including the GK project and the Pabna irrigation project.
Owing to the barrage, the soil salinity level in the areas surrounding the south-western rivers, including the Gorai, Hisna, Modhumati, Katakhali, Bishnu, Chandana, Chitra, Nabaganga, Chandana, Mathabhanga, Afra, Bhairav, Betna, Kobadak, Sibsa and the Baleswar will reduce significantly during the lean period and the barrage would help protect the Sundarbans.

The barrage will have 96 gates. Of them, 78 will have spillways on the top and 18 will have sluice gates. 
In all, 1100 km of the river would need to be dredged for the barrage.
According to project profile, the south-western, south-central, riverine and estuarine regions, including 21 districts, will be under the project. 
Farmers of these areas will able to irrigate their lands during the dry season.
The Ganga originates in the Himalayas and flows southeast through the plains of north India towards Bangladesh. 
Before crossing the border, it bifurcates at Jangipur, with the minor right-hand branch Bhagirathi travelling south, passing through India to the sea. 
The left-hand major branch crosses the border and flows about 250 km southeast to meet the Jamuna at Goalondo. 
Flowing another 110km southeast, it meets the Meghna upstream of Chandpur. The combined rivers flow for about 150km and finally falls into the Bay of Bengal.
In the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, India built several diversion barrages over the Ganga and its tributaries for irrigation projects. 
These resulted in low discharge and lower accumulated flow in the Ganga during the dry season.

Ganga Barrage project

Govt mulls Indian participation

A high-powered Indian technical team is likely to visit Bangladesh towards the end of this month to discuss their involvement in executing the Bangladesh Ganga Barrage Project. After the discussion, the team will also inform Bangladesh whether their country would take part in the project, a top government official told The Independent yesterday. Our Prime Minister wants India to participate in the project. We can start work on the project as soon as India responds, state minister for water resources, Muhammad Nazrul Islam, told this correspondent. In reply to a query, the minister said the Indian team will arrive in Dhaka within a week or two to discuss the matter. Weve sent all the project documents as India had asked for. Now, both countries will discuss the project, he added. When asked about the funding, the minister said, Money is not a problem. China and Japan have already expressed interest in financing the project. Besides, we hope India and the World Bank (WB) will also extend their cooperation in financing the project. Terming Indias decision to send a team to Bangladesh as a substantial development, Nazrul Islam said, Not only Bangladesh, India, too, will benefit from the barrage. Indias participation is needed to implement the project. Besides, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also wants to ensure Indias participation as the project would benefit farmers of both countries. According to the water resources ministry, the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) took up the Ganga Barrage Project in 2002 and conducted a pre-feasibility study that year. The BWDB finally got the green light in 2009 and completed the study in December 2012. It will take seven years to build the 2.1-km barrage, including a railway bridge of the same length, with nine regulators and 10 bridges. The project would help produce 25 lakh tonnes of additional food grains and 2.4 lakh tonnes of fish through a 165-km-long reservoir from Pangsa of Rajbari via Pabna to Chapainawabganj, with 12.5 metres of deep water. Besides, there will be six hydropower plants in the project area, which will generate 130 megawatt of electricity. On January 6, 2015, a Chinese company, Hydrochina Corporation, sent a financing proposal for the project to the Economic Relations Division (ERD). Nazrul Islam and Hydrochina Corporations vice-president held a discussion on the project on December 11, 2014, where the head of the Chinese delegation expressed interest in funding the project, including providing technical support. According to the records of the discussion, the vice-president of Hydrochina Corporation had said that the Chinese government was offering USD 20 billion concessional loans to South Asian countries over the next five years. According to the corporations assessment, USD 4 billion would be required to implement the barrage project. The corporations vice-president had informed Bangladeshi officials that the interest rate of Exim Bank, China, was 1.5 per cent, commitment fee 0.2 per cent, and management fee 0.2 per cent. The repayment period will be 16 years and the grace period will be four years. Other rules will be followed in accordance with those of both countries. The barrage would help meet the demand for water of 118 small and medium-sized projects, including the GK project and the Pabna irrigation project. Owing to the barrage, the soil salinity level in the areas surrounding the south-western rivers, including the Gorai, Hisna, Modhumati, Katakhali, Bishnu, Chandana, Chitra, Nabaganga, Chandana, Mathabhanga, Afra, Bhairav, Betna, Kobadak, Sibsa and the Baleswar will reduce significantly during the lean period and the barrage would help protect the Sundarbans. The barrage will have 96 gates. Of them, 78 will have spillways on the top and 18 will have sluice gates. In all, 1100 km of the river would need to be dredged for the barrage. According to project profile, the south-western, south-central, riverine and estuarine regions, including 21 districts, will be under the project. Farmers of these areas will able to irrigate their lands during the dry season. The Ganga originates in the Himalayas and flows southeast through the plains of north India towards Bangladesh. Before crossing the border, it bifurcates at Jangipur, with the minor right-hand branch Bhagirathi travelling south, passing through India tothe sea. The left-hand major branch crosses the border and flows about 250 km southeast to meet the Jamuna at Goalondo. Flowing another 110km southeast, it meets the Meghna upstream of Chandpur. The combined rivers flow for about 150km and finally falls into the Bay of Bengal. In the 1950s, 60s and 70s, India built several diversion barrages over the Ganga and its tributaries for irrigation projects. These resulted in low discharge and lower accumulated flow in the Ganga during the dry season.