Govt now awaits $550m Chinese loan to revive decade-old Teesta project

Highlights

• Teesta project to focus on dredging, river management downstream of barrage
• Soil from 102km dredging to be used for land reclamation
• Reclaimed land to host modern farming, an industrial park, housing, and renewable energy plants
• Proposal describes the Teesta as a "wandering and braided" river 

Bangladesh is set to restore and redevelop a vast stretch of land along the Teesta River by 2029, as renewed discussions between Dhaka and Beijing on the first phase of the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP) aim to revive the long-delayed initiative.

First phase of the restoration project set to reclaim and develop 170.87 square kilometres of land at a cost of $747.25 million. Of this, $550.62 million is expected to come from Chinese loans.

A revised Preliminary Development Project Proposal (PDPP) has already been submitted to the Chinese embassy this month and is waiting to be sent to its government.

The government aims to start work in January next year and complete the first phase within four years.

Although a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed nearly a decade ago, in September 2016, between Bangladesh Water Development Board and China's state-owned Power Construction Corporation of China (Power China), the project did not advance due to shifting geopolitical circumstances.

Now, under the interim government, Bangladesh and China have revived the plan. Loan negotiations are ongoing, as the scheme is being pursued mostly under Chinese financing.

The Teesta project will focus on dredging and river management works downstream of the Teesta Barrage. Soil excavated during dredging of a 102-kilometre section of the river will be used to recover land that has been lost to erosion over decades.

The reclaimed areas are expected to host modern agriculture, a large industrial park, residential zones, and renewable energy plants, according to the revised project proposal.

Project financing

Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud gave conditional approval to the proposal on 30 June this year, requiring cost rationalisation in several components of the proposal. The project has since been sent to the Economic Relations Division (ERD) to secure foreign financing, according to ERD and planning commission sources.

Sources in ERD said the preliminary project proposal will be sent to the Chinese government through its embassy within August. It has already been shared with the Chinese embassy in Dhaka on 13 August, accompanied by a letter confirming the government's decision to implement TRCMRP Phase 1. 

The letter highlighted the project's potential to stimulate socio-economic growth across Rangpur by establishing new centres of economic activity along the Teesta basin.

The Chinese government had earlier, in March 2023, asked Bangladesh to submit a revised project proposal and a feasibility study after reviewing the initial loan application filed in 2021. 

Now, the revised proposal has incorporated Beijing's observations.

Blueprint for reclaimed land

According to the revised proposal, a total of 400 square kilometres of land could be reclaimed over the course of the project, of which about 170.87 square kilometres will be developed in the first phase.

The plan divides the reclaimed land into four distinct areas – urban, industrial, agricultural, and resettlement zone.

As per the proposal, 6.82 sq km of land will be used to build a modern urban complex, featuring residential neighbourhoods, commercial centres and civic amenities; 72.93 sq km has been allocated for industrial use, including a photovoltaic solar power plant to promote renewable energy; 54.67 sq km will be set aside for advanced farming practices aimed at increasing food production; and 36.45 sq km will be designated for rehabilitating communities displaced by river erosion, addressing one of the region's most pressing social issues.

Officials say this mix of urbanisation, industrialisation, agriculture, and rehabilitation will turn the Teesta basin into a new hub of economic activity in northern Bangladesh, particularly in the greater Rangpur region.

River under threat

The project proposal outlines the dire situation facing the Teesta, Bangladesh's fourth largest transboundary river and a key tributary of the Brahmaputra. 

Originating at an altitude of 5,330 metres from Chitamu Lake in Sikkim, the 315-kilometre-long river flows through Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar before entering Bangladesh through Dimla in Nilphamari district. It then joins the Brahmaputra at Sundarganj in Gaibandha district. Of its total length, 113km lies within Bangladesh, covering a basin area of 11,252 sq km.

The proposal describes the Teesta as a "wandering and braided" river, prone to sudden flooding. At Kaunia point, its design discharge for a 50-year return period is 10,680 cubic metres per second, while its average annual sediment discharge reaches 49 million tonnes.

The project proposal warns that lack of protective measures has left both banks of the river vulnerable to devastating erosion and scouring. Huge properties, land and homesteads on both sides are being engulfed by the river every year.

Existing embankments are poorly maintained due to shortage of funds, leading to breaches during the monsoon. As a result, thousands of people lose their homes, farmland, crops and livelihoods annually, forcing many to live in conditions of extreme hardship.

Engineering works planned

Under Phase 1, the project will cover the 102-kilometre stretch of the Teesta downstream of the barrage to its confluence with the Brahmaputra.

Engineering works include repairing 79.6 km of existing embankments and building 124.2 km of new embankments. 

Fifteen existing groynes will be repaired and 50 new groynes will be constructed on both banks to stabilise the river flow. Additional riverbank protection and slope reinforcement measures will also be carried out as required.

The proposal states that these works will safeguard critical infrastructure, farmland, houses, schools, markets and offices along the riverbanks from annual floods. The initiative will generate new employment opportunities, at least 30% of unskilled jobs will go to poor people, women and individuals with autism. 

It will also expand industrial supply chains, boost agricultural production and create opportunities for export of high-value crops to cities such as Dhaka, Chattogram and Khulna.