A tenure-expired container-terminal project, conceived by the ousted regime, is set to be placed today for interim government's seal for revival by almost doubling the time and cost, insiders said Tuesday.
Although Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) had failed to kick-start the inland-container-terminal project to build the depot at Khanpur in Narayanganj in last four and a half years, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) is going to endorse it today, they said.
A faulty feasibility study by a private-sector consulting firm had mainly rendered the proposed container terminal a lame duck, said officials and persons close to the developments.
Analysts and insiders raised questions over the justification for the project as the existing Pangaon Inland Container Depot (ICD) launched in 2013 close by the proposed Khanpur terminal site with selfsame goals operates at truncated capacity for a lack of interest of the traders.
Recently, the BIWTA under the Shipping Ministry sought revision of the 'Internal container and bulk terminal at Khanpur in Narayanganj project' from the Planning Commission by bumping up the cost by 57.08 per cent to Tk 6.16 billion from the existing Tk 3.92 billion, PC officials said.
The water-transport authority also sought four more years up to June 2027 from its original stipulated timeline of three and a half years between January 2020 and June 2023 as the agency "failed to get down to doing main work on the project", they said.
A source told the FE that the ousted Sheikh Hasina government had undertaken the project with under political consideration, as a senior, influential minister of that government was the main lobbyist for the scheme.
He said three days before the fall of the Awami League government, the project was approved by the Shipping Ministry with enhanced cost and time for the construction of an internal means for seaborne trade traffic.
Although the project's implementation timeline was set for January 2020 to June 2023, no progress had been made.
The project was initially approved at the ECNEC meeting on December 24, 2019, aiming to boost cargo transport by waterway.
The government extended the deadline for two more years up to June 2025, but to no avail again. And now the project-life extension has been sought up to June 2027.
However, a Shipping Ministry official says, the project's cost increased after the design updating following decisions by the project steering committee, the port's master plan and a feasibility study to meet international standards.
He mentions that the Pangaon ICD has a storage capacity of 3,500 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) of containers and handling 116,000 TEUs of containers annually.
The ICD handled 27,596 TEUs of containers in 2021, only 23.79 per cent of total capacity, according to the latest report of the BIWTA.
More than 88,000 TEUs of capacity of the Pangaon ICD remained unutilized, which undermines the necessity of a new ICD in the area.
Asked about the move, a senior PC official told the FE the feasibility study was faulty and it affected the project works.
"Based on the feasibility study, the main Development Project Proposal (DPP) was taken. But when the BIWTA went for starting physical works, they realized that lot of changes are needed. Then it has made the changes to infrastructural development and civil works and sought the revision," he said.
The revised DPP explains that the increased costs are due to designing the RCC multipurpose jetty to carry containers with a live load capacity of 5.0 tonnes per square metre, compared to the previous 2.0 tonnes, in line with regional standards. Additionally, soil tests revealed that the ground on the construction site is soft, leading to higher foundation costs.
According to the proposal, the BIWTA has enlarged the RCC multipurpose jetty from 3800 square metres to 4800sqm where the estimated price has gone up to Tk 1.34 billion in the RDPP from 456 million.
The original cost of the RCC bank-revetment structure has been hiked to Tk 501.2 million from Tk 90 million in the original DPP.
Dr MA Razzaque, Director at the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI), says the new proposal should be accessed through independent review prior to approval for cost increase.
"The government also should find the reasons behind the lower capacity operation of the existing ICT and take initiative to overcome these issues," says the economist.
"The proposed project is moving through initial stages in terms of financial progress, that is why the government should postpone the project considering the existing economic crisis and should take it up for execution in a better time in the future," he suggests.
Md Hatem, President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, says traders are expressing lesser interest in existing ICDs in Narayanganj areas due to huge congestion of road traffic .
He feels the need for widening the roads of the area prior to taking initiative for establishing any new ICD in the area.
A senior leader of Chittagong C&F Agents Employees Association says currently four ships carry containers from Chattogram seaport to Dhaka. He believes a shortage of vessels is "discouraging the entrepreneurs".
Another BIWTA official says the proposed Khanpur ICD will strengthen capacity to support regional and sub-regional trade by improving logistical efficiency and reducing dependence on road transport.
He thinks the project will promote industrialization in Dhaka and surrounding areas, including Narayanganj, Gazipur, Savar, and Narsingdi, by providing efficient cargo-handling facilities.
The official mentions that the project faced delays due to prolonged decision-making by ECNEC, resolving issues with Narayanganj City Corporation and the Local Government Department, and finalizing a loan agreement with Finance Division.
Meanwhile, the BIWTA had spent Tk 149.6 million up to September last year with a financial progress of 3.82 per cent and physical progress of around 10 per cent.
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