US firms keen to participate in Ctg port expansion

Companies from the US are keen to participate in the ongoing development of the Chattogram port and improve the efficiency of its activities, said Joanne Wagner, deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Dhaka.

The expansion of the Chattogram port has created a number of exciting opportunities for firms from the US to share their technology, expertise and ideas and help the country's most active port achieve the status it aims to reach, she said.

Wagner made these comments while leading a team of US representatives on a two-day visit to Chattogram, where they met the port's officials on Sunday afternoon.

"We are looking for opportunities that can benefit both the US and Bangladesh, ways that we can make something out of even these challenging times before us," she told The Daily Star.

There are a number of areas with potential for US investment in Bangladesh, particularly the tourism industry of Chattogram as well as the pharmaceutical, IT, light engineering and energy sectors.

Energy is a very promising sector and the US companies are very much involved in the planning for such projects. 

With regard to Bangladesh's blue economy, which relates to the exploitation and preservation of the marine environment, Wagner said business agreements would soon be reached on how the US companies could support local aquaculture.

Around 10 years ago, a project called the Megaport Initiative was implemented at the Chattogram port with financing from the US to prevent the possible movement of dangerous cargo through the port.

But the Megaport Initiative was not just about Bangladesh since it was something that the US was very much concerned about and eager to implement.

This is because having dangerous goods in any port is a risk for the people who live and work there and also for the people where the goods are destined for, she added.

Wagner went on to say that a US company that provides container logistics support is keen to implement an overhead cargo movement project in the Chattogram port.

When such a project is implemented, the time it takes to shift goods from one place to another drops significantly and this befits the buyers.

It is also cleaner for the environment for a reduction in carbon emission from vehicles transporting goods. 

"We hope to learn more about it while we are here in Chattogram so that we can convey what we have learnt to our companies and see what they can bring to the table as the US does have a lot of experience in the expansion of ports," Wagner said.

"The more we can find out about those opportunities, the better, since I am quite certain that US companies will be very much interested in the expansion of the port itself, whether it is performing actual infrastructural works or supplying the equipment or energy," she added.

The deputy chief of mission went on to say that given the dynamism that exists between the two counties, it is always advantageous to bring the two together.