Bangladesh’s Padma Barrage project has shown no visible progress more than three months after approval by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council on 13 May, according to the report. The government has yet to appoint a project director, deputy project director and other required staff, despite allocating funds under the annual development programme. The project, approved at an estimated cost of Tk34,500 crore, is expected to take seven years to implement.

Officials said an approved 120-person staffing structure has not resolved disagreements between public administration officials and Bangladesh Water Development Board engineers over appointments, particularly the project director post. The board had proposed 460 positions, but the inter-ministerial meeting approved 73 deputed positions, including the project director, and 47 outsourced posts. Consultant recruitment for environmentally and economically sustainable implementation also remains pending.

The proposal says the barrage could store 2.90 billion cubic metres of water within 10 to 15 days near the end of monsoon and supply water for irrigation. It envisages work across 163 upazilas in 26 districts, reviving five dying rivers and creating 927,000 permanent jobs directly or indirectly. Water resources officials said they hope visible construction work will begin in January or February next year.