Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his two-day visit to the Netherlands, visited the Afsluitdijk dam alongside Dutch PM Rob Jetten. PM Modi called the project "groundbreaking, hailing the water management structure as a “pioneering work".
The Indian PM had earlier said his visit to Netherlands had “added new momentum to India-Netherlands ties". This momentum was on display when PM Modi visited the historic dam. The visit drew attention to long-term water management and climate resilience, while also drawing critical parallels which could aid the infrastructural blueprints back home.
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What is the Afsluitdijk dam? Why is it an engineering wonder?
• The dam, which spans 32 kilometres, is primarily one of the key protections in the centuries old Dutch battle against rising sea levels, separating the North Sea from the freshwater IJsselmeer lake, according to a report by news agency ANI.
• While shielding the low-lying European country, the dam also facilitates inland navigation, freshwater storage, and clean energy generation.
{{/usCountry}}• While shielding the low-lying European country, the dam also facilitates inland navigation, freshwater storage, and clean energy generation.
{{/usCountry}}• According to the directorate of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. Rijkswaterstaat, it separates the Wadden Sea from the IJsselmeer in the Netherlands and was built largely by hand.
• Completed in 1930, the structure has been protecting the Netherlands from the sea, and is also used for road and water traffic as well as for recreational purposes.
• Apart from being an icon for Netherlands’ constant struggle against water and an international calling card for Dutch hydraulic engineering, it also has a military history, according to the Dutch ministry.
• The dam is currently undergoing a massive modernisation framework, Afsluitdijk 2.0, wherein it is being retrofitted to survive storms which can occur once in 10,000 years.
As part of the works being undertaken, smart water-discharge mechanisms, fish migration pathways, and advanced tidal and solar energy installations are being made to the structure, according to ANI.
Direct relevance to Gujarat's Kalpasar project
PM Modi on Sunday said he had inspected the key features of the project, thanking Netherlands PM Rob Jetten, who had accompanied him. He indicated that the features of the barrier dam, which has effectively shielded Netherlands – a low-lying country — from catastrophic flooding for decades, could be an inspiration for such a model in India
Afsluitdijk also aids inland navigation, freshwater storage, and clean energy generation, news agency ANI reported. In its press release, the ministry of external affairs highlighted the dam's direct engineering relevance to Gujarat's ambitious Kalpasar Project, under which a freshwater reservoir and dam system has been proposed across the Gulf of Khambhat.
Afsluitdijk, which has served as a global benchmark in flood control and land reclamation to protect large parts of Netherlands from the North Sea while enabling freshwater storage, could be a model for the Kalpasar project.
The project in Gujarat aims to create a freshwater reservoir, which would integrate tidal power generation, irrigation, and transportation infrastructure.
“In this regard, the two sides welcomed the signing of the Letter of Intent between Ministry of Jal Shakti of India and Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands for technical cooperation on the Kalpasar project,” the ministry of external affairs said.