ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said that the New Khanki Barrage in Punjab which replaced the Khanki headworks of 1892, the oldest barrage of Pakistan, has brought widespread benefits to the community as it has served to increase agricultural output and income of over half a million families.

In a report, the ADB on Friday said that projects such as the New Khanki Barrage could serve as models to guide development partners in designing future irrigation projects. The new barrage increased the main agriculture and water management benefits, sustained production and income and lowered the risk of barrage failure.

Punjab’s irrigation system is controlled by 13 barrages and a vast network of canals that serve a cultivable area of 8.4 million hectares. Much of the irrigation infrastructure is old, over-utilised and poorly maintained. The province contributes 80 per cent of the country’s agricultural production and 66pc of its agriculture GDP.

The report says the old barrage was no longer able to safely regulate the river during strong floods, thus risking serious loss of life and property in the event of a major flood. The New Khanki Barrage achieved its objectives of providing increased and sustained agricultural production and income, and increased resilience against damage from future natural disasters.

Post-completion economic analysis of the project sho­wed that the new construction sustainably improved the delivery of water to the canal network of 2,925 channels (4,680km) across more than 1.2m hectares of irrigated land in eight districts.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2021