India-Netherlands Sign MoUs to Advance Gujarat’s Kalpasar Project

India and the Netherlands have forged collaboration in the water domain via two Tripartite Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) concerning the Kalpasar Project in Gujarat. The MoUs were executed by the Central Water Commission of India and the Kalpasar Department of the Government of Gujarat on one side and the Netherlands-based organizations Deltares and TU Delft on the other side. This collaboration will concentrate on engineering, hydraulic and hydrological modeling, coastal engineering, and climatological resilience of the project.

MoU Signed Between India-Netherlands

The MoUs were discussed during a conference at Bharat Mandapam regarding India-Netherlands cooperation in water management. The MoUs are supposed to help enhance technical cooperation in planning, designing and implementing the Kalpasar Project.

Some of the key people who were involved in the conference include the Union Minister of Jal Shakti C. R. Patil, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary, Gujarat Minister of State for Water Resources and Water Supply Ishwarsinh Patel, and representatives from India and Netherlands.

This cooperation also stems from the Letter of Intent for technical cooperation that was signed by the visiting Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi during his visit to the Netherlands in May 2026.

About the Kalapasar Project:

Kalapasar Project, or Gulf of Khambhat Project, is a water resources project of Gujarat. It involves the construction of a massive freshwater lake in the Gulf of Khambhat by constructing a barrier or barrage.

In the project, it is planned to use freshwater from the rivers like Narmada, Mahi, Dhadhar, and Sabarmati river to form the lake. This project is aimed at overcoming water shortage and increasing freshwater availability especially in the Saurashtra region.

According to the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the existing plans for this project include the highway as well as rail corridor and 2470 MW of hybrid renewable energy generation in the reclaimed land.

MoU Contents

These collaborations with the Dutch organizations will bring specialized knowledge in various technical domains in the project.

Main domains includes,

• Hydraulic and hydrological modelling
• Coastal and structural engineering
• Technical evaluation of the project designs
• Climate resilient infrastructure
• Water management
• Capacity building
• Transfer of knowledge and technology
• Digital applications
• Salinity management
• Ecological factors

The Ministry of Jal Shakti has stated that the Indo-Dutch technical cooperation will enhance the Detailed Project Report of the project due to international knowledge in coastal engineering, hydraulic modelling, salinity management, climate resilience and water management.

Indian-Netherlands Cooperation and Afsluitdijk

Kalpasar cooperation has been related to the water and coastal infrastructure expertise of the Netherlands. During his visit to the Netherlands in May 2026, PM Narendra Modi has visited Afsluitdijk, an important Dutch dam and causeway.

Afsluitdijk of 32 kilometers is considered relevant to the flooding, land reclamation, and water management in the Netherlands. The engineering expertise gained from the construction of Afsluitdijk has been seen relevant to the technical aspects of Kalpasar Project.

The Netherlands has been selected as one of the cooperating countries for the India International Water Week 2026.