  This study aims to assess the net benefit of the kaptai dam on the Karnafuli
river in Kaptai, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Kaptai Dam, the only hydroelectricity
power source in Bangladesh, provides only 5% electricity demand of Bangladesh.
The Dam is located on the Karnafuli River at Kaptai in Rangamati District, 65
km upstream from Chittagong. It is an earth-fill or embankment dam with a
reservoir with a water storage capacity of 11,000 skm. Though the Dam's primary
purpose is to generate electricity, it became a reservoir of water used for
fishing and tourism. To find the net benefit value and estimate the
environmental costs and benefits, we considered the environmental net benefit
from 1962 to 1997. We identify the costs of Kaptai Dam, including its
establishment cost, operational costs, the costs of lives that have been lost
due to conflicts, and environmental costs, including loss of biodiversity, loss
of land uses, and loss of human displacements. Also, we assess the benefits of
electricity production, earnings from fisheries production, and gain from
tourism to Kaptai Lake. The findings show that the Dam contributes tremendous
value to Bangladesh. As a source of hydroelectricity, the Kaptai Dam is a
source of clean energy, and its value might have been worthy of this Dam
produced a significant portion of the electricity. However, providing less than
5% of the national demand for electricity followed by various external and
sensitive costs, the Dam hardly contributes to the Bangladesh economy. This
study thus recommends that Bangladesh should look for other sources of clean
energy that have no chances of eco-political conflicts.
