Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan today held a meeting with JICA South Asia wing delegation at the conference room of her ministry. Photo: PID

DHAKA, Aug 27, 2025 (BSS) - Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan today said if sustainable submersible dams are built in haor region, it will increase production in the agricultural sector, ensure the country's food security and improve the quality of life of the people in the project area.

She said this at a meeting held with JICA South Asia wing delegation at the conference room of her ministry here, said a press release.

A 7-member JICA delegation led by Senior Deputy Director of the South Asia wing of JICA Teruaki Fujii was present in the meeting.

Rizwana said discussions with JICA on the dam protection project are in the final stage.

She said the main objective of the "Flood Management and Quality of Life Improvement in Haor Areas" project is to protect Boro rice from early floods through flood management in Haor areas.

Under the Haor Area Resilience and Development (HARD) Project (Haor Phase-2), 5 districts of the Haor area-Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Kishoreganj and Netrokona, have been taken as project areas for the protection of haor dams, according to the release. 

Out of these 5 districts, a total of 11 haors, including 1 in Sylhet, 6 in Sunamganj, 2 in Habiganj, 4 in Kishoreganj and 2 in Netrokona, have been initially included in this project.

The proposed infrastructures under the project are: Construction of submerged dams in Haor areas: 450.19 kilometers; Re-excavation of canals or rivers 77.700 kilometers; Irrigation inlets 58; Constitution of flood fuses - 58; Regulator or Box Drainage Outlets - 22; Threshing and Drying Floor (Chatal) - 9; Construction of office building for water management group - 8; Repair of gates - 6.

The implementing agency of the project under the initiative of the Ministry of Water Resources is Bangladesh Water Development Board. 

The estimated cost of the project is Taka 2248.12 crore. In this case, Taka 584.12 crore will come from the government of Bangladesh (GoB), which is 26 percent of the total cost, and project assistance is Taka 1664 crore, which is 74% of the total cost. The project will be financed by GoB and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). 

The proposed project period is from July 2026 to June 2033. The project is likely to be presented to ECNEC in March 2026.

In the meeting, Rizwana said the Ministry of Water Resources is moving towards implementing this project through the Bangladesh Water Development Board so that the crops of the haors are not destroyed in the floods and the farmers are not affected. 

She hoped that with the financial support of our development partner, JICA, the construction of submersible dams in 11 haors will reduce the level of damage to agricultural production in the haors.

 The project will play an important role in improving the quality of life of the people of the haor areas, she added.

Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources Md. Mokabbir Hossain, Joint Secretary (Planning) Dipanwita Shaha, Deputy Secretary (Planning) Mohammed Mobassherul Islam, Superintendent Engineer of the Water Development Board Head Office Robin Kumar Biswas, Program Officer of the JICA South Asia Division Oyama Erina, and Senior Deputy Director of the Infrastructure Engineering Division Omagari Hideo were present in the meeting.