Deep-sea port to boost Bangladesh economy

A deep-sea port in the Bay of Bengal would boost the country's economy and enhance its bilateral and multilateral trade relations, said an economist yesterday.
Professor Dr Moinul Islam, a professor of economics at Chittagong University, said, " A deep sea port would place Bangladesh at the centre of South Asia's sea-cargo, which would help expand the local economy and accelerate international trade in the region.”
“Moreover, the government should take a long term action plan to make the Chittagong port more efficient so that it can function as a regional commercial centre,” he added.
He was addressing a seminar on 'The Importance of Chittagong in the National Economy: Upcoming National Budget', arranged by the Chittagong Youth Council at the National Press Club.
“We are not using the Chittagong Port," Prof Moinul laments, adding that Chittagong is located at such a strategic location that it has the potential to be more developed than Singapore.
He said he is not against the privatisation of ports, adding that the privatisation process must be transparent and the state must not lose its control over the process.
The seminar demanded more budget allocation for Chittagong in the coming national budget, which is likely to be announced in the first week of June. Professor Muzaffer Ahmad, chairman of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), said the government should take cautious steps towards industrialisation in Chittagong.
Quazi Khaliquzzaman Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Economic Association, said the development of Chittagong would boost the country's economy.
The seminar demanded a new railway route from Chittagong to Cox's Bazar, development of communications infrastructure and administrative decentralisation to facilitate the export-import with the neighboring landlocked countries, such as Nepal and Bhutan.
Rashed Khan Menon, president of Bangladesh Workers Party, and Moinuddin Khan Badol, executive president of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), were also present at the seminar.