Tk567 crore bid to bring the Turag back to life, ease Dhaka’s water woes

For years, the Turag has been paying the price for Dhaka's relentless urban expansion— its banks squeezed by encroachment, its water contaminated by industrial waste and its natural flow disrupted by land filling.

Now, the government is betting Tk567.04 crore including a major World Bank loan, on a broad effort to restore the river and  Goran Chatbari Retention Pond Area (GRPA), while easing drainage pressure on some of the capital's most densely populated northern neighbourhoods.

Metro Dhaka Project (Goran Chatbari Retention Pond and Turag River Protection and Conservation Project, Phase-I) has been prepared by the Ministry of Water Resources is scheduled to be implemented by December 2028 in Dhaka North City Corporation areas and Savar upazila in Dhaka district.

Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) will implement the project, which is estimated to cost Tk567.04 crore.

Of the total, Tk142.32 crore will come from the government and Tk424.73 crore as project loan from the World Bank.

A Planning Commission member said the project, if implemented properly, would help protect and preserve the Turag River and GRPA, increase their water retention capacity and prevent illegal encroachment.

The project is also expected to improve drainage in Greater Mirpur, Pallabi, Rupnagar, Kalshi, Mirpur Cantonment, Mirpur DOHS, Eastern Housing, Greater Uttara, Airport and Bawnia areas.

According to the project paper, the proposed intervention comes against a backdrop of growing pressure on Dhaka's rivers and waterways.

The Turag originates from the Bangshi River in Kaliakair upazila of Gazipur and splits into two branches at Birulia union in Savar.

One branch joins the Karnatali River at Kaundia union, while the main branch flows into the Buriganga River at Aminbazar union.

The river is around 65 kilometres long, with an average width of about 85 metres. It is a perennial river and serves as an important drainage route, carrying upstream water towards the Buriganga without passing through the core of Dhaka city.

For decades, the Buriganga, Turag, Tongi Khal, Balu and Shitalakkhya rivers have played an important role in the ecological and economic life of the capital. 

But industrial activities along their channels including textile and dyeing factories and mills have contributed untreated chemical and heavy-metal waste, while encroachment and land filling have increasingly disrupted natural water flows.

The proposed project seeks to address some of these problems through a combination of dredging, waste management, ecological restoration and water-quality interventions.

Under the project, about Tk26.90 lakh cubic metres of material will be removed from the Turag through grab dredging with waste management facilities. Another Tl13.03 lakh cubic metres will be excavated or dredged with waste management arrangements.

The project also proposes the development of a 5,035-metre walkway and a 2-kilometre ecosystem improvement area, along with the development of eco-buffer zones along the Turag River and the perimeter of GRPA.

Two automated mechanical trash racks will be installed at Dwigun Khal and Rupnagar Khal to improve solid waste management. 

The project also includes the installation of 91 fountain-cum-aerators, one water-quality assurance plant and the rehabilitation or repair of three pump houses.

A power facility will also be constructed to support the rehabilitation and repair of the pump houses. A 226-square-metre project management office is proposed as part of the implementation arrangements.

The authorities said the project is designed not simply as a dredging operation, but as a broader effort to restore the ecological functions of the river and retention pond while improving the surrounding urban environment.

Restoring Dhaka's surrounding rivers and developing a blue network require improvements in river ecology and water quality, urban planning that incorporates water resources, better land management, improved river-flow management and rehabilitation of canals, according to the project document.

Such measures could also create opportunities for improved water-based transport, while helping the city cope with drainage and climate-related pressures.

However, the project document identifies continuing pollution, urban and economic expansion, fluctuations in river flows and climate change as major challenges to restoring waterways around Dhaka.

The scale and complexity of these challenges require coordinated and integrated efforts across multiple sectors at both national and regional levels, it said.

The proposed project is also aligned with the government's 2026 election manifesto, as per the project document, particularly its commitments concerning water-resource planning, environmental conservation and sustainable development, protection of natural resources, waste management and pollution control.

It is also consistent with SDG indicator 6.5.1, which promotes integrated water resources management.

For residents of areas such as Mirpur, Pallabi, Rupnagar, Uttara and Bawnia, the significance of the project could ultimately be measured in practical terms: whether water drains faster after heavy rain, whether polluted waterways become healthier and whether public spaces around the river become safer and more usable.

The proposed World Bank-backed investment therefore combines river restoration with urban resilience, reflecting the growing need to treat Dhaka's waterways not merely as channels for carrying away excess water, but as essential parts of the city's environmental and social infrastructure.