River Bank Protection

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The River Bank Protection Project's principal objective is to prevent the erosion of riparian land at two locations on the west bank of the Brahmaputra by the construction and maintenance of improved river-bank protection works which will: 1) protect Sirajganj town's built-up and semi-urban areas from major damage and cumulative destruction; and 2) prevent the merger of the Brahmaputra and Bangali Rivers in the vicinity of Sariakandi and consequential increased regional flooding. A further objective is to assist the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) in developing permanent institutions for improved water sector planning, preserving the institutional capacity developed under the Flood Action Plan (FAP) and making multi-disciplinary planning part of Bangladesh's normal water sector planning processes. The project's components are: 1) rehabilitation and construction of river-bank protection works at two sites on the Brahmaputra River's west bank; 2) land acquisition and a program of resettlement for people displaced by project works; 3) technical assistance for implementation supervision and maintenance of works constructed under the project; 4) establishment and initial funding of a specialized operations and maintenance (O&M) Unit in the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) to maintain the riverbank protection works constructed under the project, and procurement of vehicles and equipment for the O&M Unit; 5) institution building technical assistance to Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO) to integrate the FAP within the framework of national water planning, produce a national water management plan and a portfolio of investment projects for the medium and long-term, and upgrade integrated water sector planning capability; and 6) institutional capacity building technical assistance to BWDB to improve the operation of the new regional accounting centers, and provision of equipment and transport to improve project supervision capability in the field and internal communications.