Poor infrastructure discourages foreign investment in Ctg

CHITTAGONG, Jan 23: Speakers and city planers at a meeting here Saturday underscored the importance of an integrated effort under a common authority for proper implementation of short and long-term plans in the port city envisaging its mega city concept, reports BSS.

"Our dream for boosting the national economy and to cope with the challenges of the new millennium largely depends on overall development of the port city," they observed.

The meeting, held under the auspices of Chittagong City Corporation, was presided over by City Mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury.

The meeting was addressed, among others, by city experts, heads and representatives of different organisations and public utility services including Commissioner of Chittagong Division ASM Mobaidul Islam, Chairman of the Chittagong Development Authority AZM Jalalabadi, chief advisor of KPEZ Engineer Zia Hossain, Chief Engineer of the Chittagong WASA, KM Bokteyar, former general manager of the Bangladesh Railway, Eastern Zone, M A Hashem, Chief Engineer of the Chittagong Port Sultan Mahmud, Commissioner of the Chittagong Metropolitan Police ATM Ahmedul Haq, chief of the Chittagong City Population Census Committee Dr Iftekheruddin, Chief Engineer of PDB MB Barua and journalist Sayed Murtoza Ali.

The speakers who dwelt upon various aspects of the Chittagong City also underscored the importance of formation of a task force to formulate the outlines of the long and short-term plans so that it could identify the projects to be executed either with the foreign or internal resources.

They said there is no alternative to develop a standard communication network between the city and its outskirts to ease the population pressure in the city. They further said Chittagong city is expected to be inhabited by around one crore people by the next ten years.

Winding up the discussion, the city mayor urged the government to attach proper importance to the development of Chittagong City and said overseas investors are being discouraged to invest in the port city due to absence of the infrastructural facilities.

Chowdhury asked the authority's concern to prepare the project papers with well-thought out plans from respective organisations keeping in view its mega city concept.

The papers will be finalisd at the City Development Coordination Committee meeting to be held in the next month, the meeting sources said.