Fast-tracking Chittagong's development

Arecently organised seminar titled "Global Port, Global City: Prioritising Chittagong for Accelerating National Growth" dwelt on problems facing the country's premier port city. Chittagong is not only the second largest city in the country but is also home to 40 percent of heavy industrial output, contributes up to 25 percent of the annual national revenue and handles 80 percent of total external trade.

Despite all this, the current trend of head offices of established business houses and industry moving out of Chittagong and relocating to Dhaka is a worrying sign. Chittagong's development which is pivotal to the growth of the national economy is being rather de-prioritised.
Plans for establishing a deep sea port still remain in paper. Hence the existing port facility cannot cope with the growth in trade. It continues to suffer from lack of operational autonomy and there have been allegations of graft that hinders efficiency. With infrastructure deficiencies left unaddressed, potential foreign direct investment risks being weaned away by competing nations in the neighbourhood. Another mega project that continues to suffer inordinate delays is the much-vaunted expansion of Dhaka-Chittagong highway from existing 2-lane to 4-lane. Lastly, the chronic gas supply shortage has crippled expansion efforts of industries in the Chittagong industrial zones.

Time has arrived to delineate roles and responsibilities of the 32 agencies responsible for city development and also prioritise fast-track completion of key infrastructure projects that have been virtually in a limbo.