Prime Minister Modi visits historic dam in Netherlands, praises water management model
New Delhi, May 17: On the third day of his six-day five-nation visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, visited the historic Afsluitdijk Dam in the Netherlands. During the visit, the two leaders reviewed projects related to water management, flood control, and the development of land and freshwater resources by impounding seawater.
Sharing this information on the social media platform X, the Prime Minister said that water resource management is an area in which the Netherlands has pioneered work, and the world can learn a lot from it. He said that he had the opportunity to understand the key features of the Afsluitdijk project and thanked Prime Minister Rob Jetten for this.
The Prime Minister noted that India is working to promote modern technology for irrigation, flood control, and the expansion of the inland waterways network. Cooperation between India and the Netherlands in the field of water management can be further strengthened.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also described this as significant. He wrote on Twitter that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Prime Minister Rob Jetten, visited the Afsluitdijk Dam, a symbol of Dutch engineering excellence and innovation in water management, flood protection, and freshwater storage.
He added that the visit is also significant for Gujarat’s Kalpasar Project, which aims to develop a large freshwater reservoir and dam near the Gulf of Khambhat. This will also foster new possibilities for India-Netherlands cooperation in the areas of climate adaptation, water technology, and sustainable infrastructure.
It is noteworthy that the Afsluitdijk is a major dam and bridge in the Netherlands, constructed between 1927 and 1932. This approximately 32-kilometer-long dam connects the village of Den Oever in North Holland to Zurich in the province of Friesland. The dam closed the Zuiderzee, a saltwater bay in the North Sea, transforming it into a vast freshwater lake called the IJsselmeer.
This project is considered one of the Netherlands’ most significant water management and land reclamation projects. The Afsluitdijk Dam’s construction reduced the threat of sea flooding, opening up new opportunities for agriculture, drinking water, and transportation. The dam also serves as a key road link between the country’s north and west.
Following the devastating North Sea floods of 1953, the dam’s height was raised in several stages. In 2019, extensive modernization and strengthening work began to address the challenges posed by storm surges and climate change.
