‘Foreign investments will make Ctg port a regional hub’

There is nothing to fear about foreign investments in Bangladesh's ports as the government is determined to serve the country's interest first before accepting any new investment, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said today.

"We need foreign investment. We are considering a lot of commercial agreements at this time. We have to run with all these. But if any country comes with investment, the government will serve Bangladesh's interest first."

The state minister made the comments at a roundtable on "How Chattogram port can be turned into a shipping regional hub", organised by English daily The Business Standard (TBS) at its office in Dhaka.

Bangladesh is situated in the middle of the East and the West, he said.

The Matarbari deep seaport has already became a regional hub and the Cox's Bazar airport will also follow suit, Chowdhury said.

"We have three internal ports. There are some weaknesses in terms of logistics. We are trying to remove it gradually. A lot of development is needed for it. That's why we are talking about accepting foreign investment."

Chattogram Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral Mohammad Shahjahan attended the event chaired by TBS Editor Inam Ahmed and moderated by TBS Executive Editor Sharier Khan.