Deep-seaport well before deadline

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FE Report
The country would be able to see the long awaited deep-seaport at Sonadia in Moheshkhali by 2016, four years before the deadline for the first-phase work's completion was targeted, shipping minister Shahjahan Khan said.
The first-phase work of the port will cost Tk 160 billion and its total expenditure has been set at Tk 550 billion.
Mr Khan said his ministry has made significant progress and already completed the drafting of the deep-seaport act to execute the single biggest project of the country to meet the demand of the times.
"We do not only dream of the deep-seaport. We have also taken steps to translate the dream into reality," the shipping minister said addressing the opening ceremony of the Deep-Seaport Cell at the cell office in the city Sunday.
Shipping secretary Md Abdul Mannan Howlader and chief executive officer of the cell AKM Shafiqullah also spoke.
The minister said an inter-ministerial meeting approved the draft law on November 24 and it is now under vetting by the law ministry.
"If vetting process completes on time, we have plan to place the draft at the next parliament session," he said.
The minister said the feasibility study and site selection of the deep-sea port have been completed and the ministry is on the move to appoint a design consultant and construction contractor, and look for financiers of the total Tk 550-billion project and land acquisition.
Financial support from China has been sought and Japan has also shown interest in funding the project, he added.
"The way the single largest project of the country is progressing, we expect to get the port visible by 2016," the minister said.
The deep-seaport has been planned to be executed in three phases -- first in 2020, second in 2035 and the final in 2055. The pre-feasibility study identified the site at Sonadia Island in Moheshkhali, 100 kilometres from Chittagong, with a target to give berth to general cargo and container vessels of 250 million and 300 million capacity respectively.
It will have an approach channel for handling two-way traffic, harbour basin and breakwaters.
The shipping secretary said the preliminary development plan of the deep-sea port has been approved in six months and after execution of the project it will work as a big push for the country's economy.
He said the port would be a good source of revenue earning for the nation like that in Singapore since Nepal, Bhutan and India along with China are likely to get its benefit.
The secretary hoped that with the opening of the cell and execution work of the project would be accelerated further.
The CEO of the cell said the country's two ports are losing their capacity to handle international trade, which is increasing at a 9.8 per cent rate, adding that the deep-seaport cell would help the country increase the port's capacity in various ways not only within the country but also in the region.