The Jal Shakti Ministry signed two tripartite MoUs with Dutch institutions Deltares and TU Delft for technical cooperation and capacity building on the Kalpasar freshwater reservoir project.

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• The two MoUs were signed on Thursday, September 24, on the sidelines of the ninth India International Water Week at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
• The signatories were the Central Water Commission, Gujarat's Kalpasar Department and the Dutch knowledge institutions Deltares and TU Delft.
• Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil and Netherlands Vice Minister Jaap Slootmaker chaired a bilateral meeting on the Strategic Partnership on Water.
• The Kalpasar project plans a freshwater reservoir using runoff from the Sabarmati, Mahi and Dhadhar rivers, supplemented by Narmada water.
• The project involves building a dam across the Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat.
• Kalpasar was discussed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's May 2026 visit to the Netherlands, where the two countries elevated ties to a Strategic Partnership.
• A Letter of Intent on technical cooperation for the project was signed on May 16, 2026, during that visit.
• An Indian delegation visited the Netherlands in July to study flood protection, coastal infrastructure, hydraulic modelling, sluice and pumping systems, and dyke technologies.
• Patil drew parallels with the Netherlands' Afsluitdijk, which Slootmaker said is nearly 100 years old and now being renewed.
• The Dutch technical assistance is expected to focus on tidal management, salinity control and delta engineering.