Prime Minister’s Finance and Planning Adviser Professor Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir said completion of the Padma Barrage project could add between 0.5% and 1% to Bangladesh’s gross domestic product. He made the remarks on Monday at a National Press Club roundtable titled “Padma Barrage: Prospects and Challenges,” organised by the Institute for Global Co-operation Foundation.

Titumir said the project could store about 2,900 million cubic metres of water for agriculture, irrigation and hydropower generation. It is expected to produce an estimated 113 megawatts of environmentally friendly hydropower. Plans also include developing seven modern townships along riverbanks as part of sustainable urbanisation.

The barrage is intended to maintain dry-season flows in the Hisna, Mathabhanga, Gorai, Madhumati, Chanda, Barashia, Baral and Ichamati rivers. Regular irrigation could be ensured for about 4.69 million hectares of farmland across the greater Kushtia, Faridpur, Jashore, Khulna, Barishal, Pabna and Rajshahi regions. The first phase is targeted for completion by 2029, with the full project planned by 2033.