From Zuiderzee to Khambhat: how Indo-Dutch water collaboration is taking shape at the Afsluitdijk
With 18% of the world’s population but only 4% of its global freshwater resources, India faces a defining 21st-century challenge: long-term water security in an era of climate volatility. As India accelerates its search for scalable, climate-resilient infrastructure, it is looking closely at the Dutch playbook. A recent, highly symbolic visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the iconic Afsluitdijk dam highlights a partnership moving far beyond traditional diplomacy and straight into the future of global hydraulic engineering.
A strategic stop at a global benchmark
While international headlines during Prime Minister Modi’s official trip to the Netherlands heavily featured semiconductor logistics and green hydrogen, the most consequential long-term story unfolded on a 32-kilometre stretch of asphalt and basalt. The massive barrier dam has protected the Netherlands from floods for decades while also helping manage freshwater storage, inland waterways and renewable energy generation. Accompanied by Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, PM Modi personally visited the Afsluitdijk, the legendary barrier dam that has protected the low-lying Netherlands from the North Sea since 1932.
"An area in which the Netherlands has done pioneering work is water resources. There is a lot the entire global community can learn from them... We are working to bring modern technology to India aimed at helping in irrigation, flood control, and expanding the inland waterway network." - Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India
The visit was a deliberate signal. PM Modi did not focus his time on a traditional tech park or factory; he stood on a 94-year-old dam. It was a powerful acknowledgment that for water-stressed, climate-vulnerable nations, the Netherlands represents the original proof of concept that humanity can engineer its own survival at a civilisational scale.
Two icons, one shared ambition: Afsluitdijk and Kalpasar
The focus on the Afsluitdijk is driven by a massive, real-world parallel currently being planned in India: The Kalpasar Project in the state of Gujarat. For decades, Gujarat has conceptualized a mega-infrastructure system across the Gulf of Khambhat. The ambitions of Kalpasar mirror historical achievements of the Afsluitdijk, adapted for modern Indian requirements. To solidify this shared path, the Ministry of Jal Shakti of India and the Netherlands’ Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management have officially signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for technical cooperation on the project.
Mapping the engineering parallels
The alignment between the existing Dutch infrastructure and India's future vision spans four critical components:
- The primary structure: where the Netherlands built a 32-kilometre barrier dam to close off the Zuiderzee in 1932, India envisages a 30-kilometre dam across the ocean gulf of Khambhat.
- Water transformation: the Afsluitdijk successfully turned a chaotic saltwater sea into the massive, freshwater IJsselmeer lake. Similarly, Kalpasar aims to establish a 10 billion cubic metre freshwater reservoir directly within a marine environment.
- Resource inputs: while the IJsselmeer is fed by internal European river systems like the IJssel, the Kalpasar reservoir will capture and store flows from major Indian rivers, including the Narmada, Mahi, Sabarmati, and Dhadar.
- Multifunctional benefits: just as the Afsluitdijk provides flood defence, highway connectivity, and freshwater security, Kalpasar will integrate a 10-lane transport corridor (saving 200 kilometres of travel), irrigation infrastructure for drought-prone Saurashtra, and strategic industrial supply.
Beyond concrete: the modernisation and public-private playbook
What makes the Dutch model exceptionally relevant to India today is not just what was built in 1932, but how it is being reimagined for the future. The Dutch water sector is currently executing a major modernisation programme (often called "Afsluitdijk 2.0") to ensure the structure can withstand extreme storms expected only once every 10,000 years.
This €550 million to €800 million upgrade is an ecosystem-wide masterclass. It integrates reinforced locks, advanced water discharge systems, fish migration channels, and cutting-edge renewable energy generation, including solar, wind, and tidal flow technology. Furthermore, the project showcases the power of innovative Dutch financing and collaboration. The modernisation was brought to market as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) covering design, construction, finance, and 25 years of maintenance. The contract, won by the Levvel consortium (including Dutch impact investors like Rebel), proves how the private sector can successfully co-invest in national climate adaptation. It is precisely this blending of engineering excellence, ecological consciousness, and financial structuring that India needs as it navigates the estimated Rs 85,000-90,000 scale of Kalpasar.
Co-creation for a resilient future
The Kalpasar Project still faces complex engineering, ecological, and environmental questions regarding marine sedimentation, fisheries, and long-term sustainability. Out of 43 critical feasibility studies, many remain in progress. This is where the true value of the India-Netherlands Strategic Partnership on Water lies.
The Dutch water sector brings centuries of experience in balancing complex environmental protection with massive hydraulic engineering. Conversely, India brings an unrivalled implementation scale, rapid execution capabilities, and unique climate challenges.
As Prime Minister Rob Jetten noted on X following the historic visit:
"If there’s one thing the Netherlands excels at, it is dealing with water. India has shown considerable interest in our expertise in the field of water management. We’re looking to deepen our cooperation in this area."
In the 21st century, water is no longer merely a resource to be managed: it is also a matter of strategy, technology, security, and growth. By joining forces, India and the Netherlands are no longer just exchanging knowledge; they are building global solutions together.
Read the Joint Statement by India and the Netherlands here.
This news release is based on reporting by The Times of India and The Indian Express and the website of the Government of the Netherlands.
