The government has taken a rehabilitation and emergency maintenance programme for Ganges–Kobadak (GK) Irrigation Project at a cost of Tk 1,299.96 crore, aiming to restore one of the country’s most important surface irrigation systems and increase food production in the southwest region.
The project taken by the Ministry of Water Resources will be implemented by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB).
The project will be fully funded by the government and the implementation period has been fixed from January 2026 to June 2029.
Spanning 13 upazilas of Kushtia, Chuadanga, Jhenaidah and Magura districts under Khulna division,it targets a historically vital irrigation network that plays a key role in national food security.
According to Planning Commission assessments, successful implementation of the project will ensure uninterrupted irrigation water supply to about 1.16 lakh hectares of farmland.
This is expected to raise cropping intensity and enable the production of an additional 9.83 lakh tonnes of food grains every year.
Officials said the project has been designed to restore the declining capacity of the GK system which has deteriorated over the past decade due to heavy siltation, ageing infrastructure and reduced water conveyance efficiency.
The rehabilitation programme aims to ensure continuity of irrigation services, increase crop yields, stabilise agricultural production and reduce farmers’ dependence on groundwater extraction, which has been putting growing pressure on underground water reserves.
One of the main objectives is to promote greater use of surface water from the Padma River and cut excessive reliance on groundwater irrigation.
Experts said increased use of surface water will help protect the groundwater table which is expected to rise by 1.0 metre to 3.5 metres in different parts of the project area after completion of the rehabilitation works.
This improvement is expected to benefit not only crop production but also domestic water availability and small-scale irrigation schemes operated by agencies such as BMDA, BADC and LGED.
Under the project, 960.13 kilometres of canals will be re-excavated and restored, including 96.41 kilometres of main canals, 233.13 kilometres of secondary canals, 488.25 kilometres of tertiary canals and 142.34 kilometres of drainage canals.
Two major pumps, each with a capacity of 1,000 cusecs, will be reinstalled to ensure adequate water lifting from the Padma River.
A new pump house will be constructed, along with the installation of five subsidiary pumps, each with a capacity of 5.5 cumecs or 192.5 cusecs.
The project also includes rehabilitation, repair and maintenance of 661 irrigation-related structures, including outlets, siphons, aqueducts, bridges, culverts and water control structures such as regulators and check structures.
A 132/5.5 kV electrical substation of the GK project will also be rehabilitated to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the pumping facilities.
The GK Irrigation Project is Bangladesh’s first and largest modern surface irrigation system.
Conceived during the British period to address chronic irrigation shortages in the southwest the project was initially surveyed in 1951 and approved in 1954.
It was implemented in two phases between 1955 and 1983, with irrigation operations beginning in 1962.
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Designed as a combined irrigation, drainage and flood control system, the project originally covered a gross area of 197,500 hectares, with 116,000 hectares earmarked as irrigable land.
However, rapid urbanisation, infrastructure development and industrial expansion over the decades have reduced the effective irrigable area to around 95,616 hectares.
In recent years, irrigation coverage has declined further due to the poor condition of canals.
During the 2020–21 season, only about 55,616 hectares were irrigated in the monsoon and around 23,000 hectares in the dry season, depending on water availability.
Officials said that despite reduced dry-season flows in the Padma River in some years, the GK system historically supported a much larger irrigated area between 2006 and 2010 than it does now.
They believe that comprehensive rehabilitation of canals and pumping infrastructure will restore and even expand irrigation coverage across the project area.
The region is home to around 40 lakh people with about 2.5 lakh landowners directly dependent on agriculture.
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By ensuring reliable irrigation, the project is expected to create new employment opportunities, increase farm incomes and improve the overall socio-economic condition of the southwest.
With food demand rising alongside population growth, officials concerned see the GK irrigation rehabilitation as a critical initiative to strengthen domestic food production, stabilise crop output and support Bangladesh’s long-term food security goals.