Both public and private sectors got into a rush to get lands in the vicinity of Mongla seaport for building industrial units, officials said, as entrepreneurs seemed lured by major uplift plans.
This past week alone, the ministry of shipping (MoS) forwarded six applications to the Mongla Port Authority (MPA) for necessary action.
All sought allocation of lands in areas close by the port being revamped for a takeoff on some major intra-country and regional connectivity plans and projects.
MPA chairman Riazuddin Ahmed told the FE Thursday that he received scores of applications seeking port lands for setting up industrial units.
"But we can allot lands only to applicants who intend to set up port-related industrial units," he said.
Mr Ahmed said industrialists who are not getting private lands near the port area are making a beeline for lands owned by the seaport in the southern district that hosts world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbans.
"We have some lands which can be allotted for industrial purpose," he said, adding that in the past 20 plots of land were given for setting up factories.
The port of Mongla has a total of 2323.80 acres of land encompassing the area of permanent port, Old Mongla, Khulna, and Hironpoint areas.
Years back, the MPA had allotted 20 plots in favour of interested businessmen for setting up industrial units there. The MPA also sold out 205 acres of land to government at Tk 470 million to facilitate the setting up of Mongla Economic Zone.
Mr Ahmed said the port authority had already allocated nearly five acres of land to Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation which wants to set up a three-star hotel after demolishing hotel Pashur located in Mongla area.
Applications of Titas Refinery Company Ltd, Blue Gaz Ltd, Promita Oil and Gas Ltd, B M Energy (BD) Ltd, Summit Corporation Ltd, Bashundhara Group, and many other companies seeking lands remained pending, he said.
The MPA chief said private enterprises who bought lands adjacent to the port area had already started construction works for setting up factories. The area is now buzzing, he said.
After the under-construction Padma Multipurpose Bridge opens to traffic by 2018, road communications between Mongla port and Dhaka and other parts of the country will be very easy. So, businesspeople are heading towards Mongla port area to set up industrial units there to enjoy the facility of using the port for both importing raw materials and exporting goods, said Mr Ahmed.
"The increased interest of businessmen in setting up industrial units adjacent to port area or occupying port's land is an indication that the port will be very busy in the nearest years," he noted.
He, however, said there is no chance of allocating a big number of plots for setting up industrial units since the MPA is preparing a master plan for expansion of port facilities by taking into consideration the possible rush in the port use in next fifty years.
A development project proposal for expansion of port's facilities now awaits ministry's nod, he noted.
The cabinet committee on economic affairs Wednesday approved a Tk 43.93 billion project for modernisation of Mongla Port.
Presently, a significant portion of the port capacity remains unused while Chittagong seaport struggles to take a huge load export-import trade, often facing shipping jams.
But the government foresees a heavy rush in port use in the near future. Neighbouring India has already been allowed to use the port and countries like Nepal and Bhutan have also sought such transit facility.
The port now has handling capacity of 0.25 million TEUs (twenty feet equivalent units) of containerised goods while it handled nearly 43,000 TEUs in the last fiscal year, said the MPA chairman.
At the same time, the port also handled some six million tonnes of goods against its capacity to handle 13 million tonnes.
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