Govt focuses on deep-sea port
The government has formed a high-profile committee to review the proposals of the United Arab Emirates, China and a few other interested countries and development partners to build the country's first deep-sea port.
The deep-sea port, one of the mega infrastructure projects of the incumbent government, will be built in Sonadia in Cox's Bazar as per an electoral pledge of the ruling Awami League.
The government has so far failed to move forward with this project except carrying out feasibility studies. Experts say there is no alternative to building a deep-sea port as the capacity of the Chittagong Port would be exhausted by 2015.
The high-profile committee has been formed on February 13 after the UAE placed formal proposals to the government on January 30 to construct the deep-sea port and container terminal in Chittagong and Gazipur.
UAE Minister for Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna Bint Khaled Al Qasimi visited Bangladesh and talked to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about financing the port. Dubai-based DP World, the world's third largest port operator, wants to invest between $ 3 billion and $ 4 billion for the deep-sea port.
China had earlier formally proposed financing and constructing the port several times and it remained open to partnership with other countries including India, Germany and the USA.
But the government had remained silent about the matter and was apparently in a dilemma as to which country should be chosen.
The 10-member high-profile committee headed by Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Shaikh Md Wahid-uz-Zaman will start working soon on the proposals of the UAE, China and other countries.
The committee has been asked to place specific recommendations to the prime minister within the shortest possible time as the government wants to start the first phase of construction within its tenure.
The committee also comprises the secretaries of shipping, commerce, finance division, foreign affairs ministries and Economic Relations Department (ERD), the director general-3 of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the chief executive officer (CEO) of the PPP Office at the PMO, and the CEO of the Deep-Sea Port Cell.
The joint secretary-2 of the shipping ministry will work as the member secretary of the committee.
Talking to The Daily Star, committee chief Wahid-uz-Zaman said they would hold a meeting within a week to formally start working on the issue. "As soon as possible, may be in two months, we will be able to submit our report to the government," he added.
Asked about China's proposal to construct the deep-sea port, the secretary said the government is considering building the port on the basis of government to government (G2G) involvement to maintain maximum fairness, transparency and accountability.
"The G2G initiative will quicken implementation of the project," he said, adding that they would also consider China or the USA's proposal in this regard.
"We will accept that proposal [of any country] which will uphold our country's interests most," the principal secretary added.
As per a Japanese study in 2009, Bangladesh could build this Tk 40,000 crore port in Sonadia in three phases. The first phase was supposed to start at the end of 2011 and be completed by 2015 at a cost of Tk 13,000 crore. The second and third phases would be implemented for another Tk 27,000 crore over the next four decades.
The study estimated that the port would boost the country's GDP growth by 2 percent, as it would generate huge employment, increase export and import and raise the country's capacity to handle cargo.
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