To start with he has not said that it takes at least 15 to 20 years time to have a fully operational new port starting from the ground breaking. In 15 to 20 years the economic scenario of this part of the world is not going to remain as it is today. The very fast growth of the BRIC( Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries gives us an idea of things to come in near future. Bangladesh is also going to be benefited from the spill over effect of the developments of the BRIC countries. Two of the most resourceful regions that have remained largely untapped are our immediate neighbours namely, North-east India and Myanmar. Mr. Chowdhury has dismissed highly resourceful North-east India to be a mere exporter of tea. It is so because their access to sea is both difficult and costly, if we offer them port facilities then this region will also develop fast and that will be to our mutual benefit. Myanmar's development is stuck because of the tight grip on power by the military junta but this will also change and Myanmar will also develop very rapidly. Myanmar do not have modern port facilities which we could provide them. Mr. Chowdhury has himself said the there is no deep sea port in the Bay of Bengal region. This means that if we start a main line service from our new deep sea port then we can expect cargoes of the region to come to our new port and the new port will be a hub port of the region. Mr. Chowdhury has rightly said our location is outside the main sea lane but I would like to add that it does not stop us from making our own new port as the hub port for the region. The hinterland of the port may extend to as far as China besides Myanmar and North-east India.. I do not know if Mr. Chowdhury is aware of the fact that Pakistan , a country outside the main shipping lane, is already having a deep sea port at Gwadar, hitherto a sleepy fish harbour on the Lasbela coast of Beluchistan province with the help of the Chinese to cater to the trading needs of central Asian countries, Afghanistan and South-west China. It is not without reason that Pakistan has made such massive investment in building of a port in the middle of nowhere. Mr. Chowdhury ignored the fact that if we can send our cargo from our own hub port then the cost of feedering will be eliminated and the cargo will reach destinations in Europe or America at least seven days earlier, besides saving at least US$ 500 per TEU. This I am sure will give a big boost to our exports, as it will make our goods more competitive in the international market. If we can make our new port an efficient one, then there will be no dearth of cargo and the port will very soon be a viable one. So far we have only discussed about the containerised cargo but if we look at the bulk cargo sector then we see that millions of dollars are spent every year in demurrage ad lightening of the mother vessels at the outer anchorage. A deep sea port can dispense with the whole lightening operation and save the country from millions of dollars of unnecessary expenditure every year.

In order to minimise our young men going abroad for jobs we could create jobs for them within the country rapidly by declaring the southern coast of the river Shangu a "special economic zone." Port facilities nearby and availability of good communication and logistics will make the economic zone an attractive destination for the investors.

Finally, I would like to mention here that the Jamuna Bridge was not considered by many as feasible but after the bridge was opened it has been conclusively proved that it is indeed a viable one.

Now the question is not if a deep sea port is necessary for Bangladesh, but how soon we are going to have it. Finally, I would request the people concerned not to make an issue of it, but rather we should wait for the report and findings of the consultants.