India, Netherlands Sign Two MoUs on Kalpasar Project at Water Week

India and the Netherlands signed two tripartite Memoranda of Understanding on the Kalpasar Project in Gujarat during a bilateral meeting on their Strategic Partnership on Water, held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on the sidelines of the 9th India International Water Week 2026.

The meeting was chaired by Union Minister for Jal Shakti C. R. Patil and the Netherlands' Vice Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management, Jaap Slootmaker. Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary, Gujarat's Minister of State for Water Resources and Water Supply (Independent Charge) Ishwarsinh Patel, senior Jal Shakti officials and the Netherlands' Ambassador to India, Marisa Gerards, were among those present.

The MoUs are intended to facilitate cooperation on the Kalpasar Project between the Central Water Commission, the Kalpasar Department of the Gujarat government, and the Dutch knowledge institutions Deltares and TU Delft. Under the arrangements, Dutch expertise and advanced engineering practices will support the planning, design and implementation of the project. The cooperation with Deltares covers technical review, hydraulic and hydrological modelling, coastal and structural engineering, climate resilience, capacity building, knowledge transfer and digital applications.

Patil said the agreements would give both countries a strong basis to work together on executing the project, and welcomed the Dutch institutions' partnership with their Indian counterparts. He noted that the Kalpasar Project was discussed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Netherlands in May 2026, after which a Letter of Intent for technical cooperation was signed on 16 May 2026.

The project envisages a freshwater reservoir built from runoff of the Sabarmati, Mahi and Dhadhar rivers, supplemented by water conveyed from the Narmada. Patil said an Indian delegation's visit to the Netherlands in July 2026 yielded insights on flood protection, coastal infrastructure, hydraulic modelling, sluice and pumping systems, dyke technologies and ecological solutions, and pointed to parallels with the Afsluitdijk in engineering, water management and coastal infrastructure.

Slootmaker underlined the significance of the Letter of Intent and the scope it offers for further cooperation. He said the Afsluitdijk is nearly a century old and is now being renewed, giving the Netherlands a chance to share the knowledge accumulated over that period. He added that Deltares and TU Delft would contribute their expertise through the MoUs, and stressed the value of exchanging lessons learned, including on ecology and fish migration.