ECNEC nod likely today for buying 20 dredgers

Syful Islam | Published: August 11, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

The government is set to approve procurement of a fleet of 20 dredgers to help maintain adequate navigability in inland river routes, many of which begin to dry up just after monsoon.Â Â Â
Officials said the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in its meeting today (Tuesday) is scheduled to consider the procurement of the dredges with ancillary equipment and accessories for BIWTA (Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority).
The cost of the big buy is Tk 20.48 billion. The dredgers will be collected under a project scheduled for July 2015 to December 2019 period. The BIWTA has presently 18 dredgers and it is planning to buy three more within this year under another project.
World Bank's Bangladesh Integrated Transport Sector Study 1998 showed that the size of waterways in the country stands at 6,000 kilometres (km) in rainy season and shrinks to 3,800 kms in summer following navigability loss of rivers.
The lengths were 8,400 kms and 5,200 kms respectively some four decades back.
It said due to the lowering of water level of rivers the production of fishes and irrigation activities have been reduced. Due to the excessive sedimentation the flow of water faces obstacles, leading to flooding. Â
Officials said recently the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) conducted a study titled 'Feasibility Study of Capital Dredging and Sustainable River Management in Bangladesh' which found out that some 216 cutter-suction dredgers will be needed for capital dredging of 23 big and medium-sized rivers.
They said the BIWTA has set a target to dredge some 500 million cubic metres of sand and mud along 65 river routes in next 11 years. It will have to dredge 45.61 million cubic metres each year.
Besides, every year some 52.6 million cubic metres of sand and mud will have to be dredged for maintaining navigability.
Officials said after collection of 20 dredgers the annual capacity of BIWTA will be increased to 34.25 million cubic metres from the existing 11 million cubic metres. The private dredging companies of the country have the capacity to remove 14 million cubic metres of sand and mud.
Sources said under the project some 06 numbers of 26-inch cutter-suction dredgers, 09 of 20-inch cutter-suction dredgers, 05 numbers of 18-inch cutter-suction dredgers, 20 crane boats, 08 tugboats, 20 crew-houseboats, 08 officers' houseboats, 05 inland survey vessels, 10 survey workboats, and 12 pipe-carrying barges will be collected.
BIWTA chairman M Mozammel Huq earlier told the FE that, apart from the Mongla Ghasiakhali river-route dredging, presently the authority is also running two more dredging projects. The BIWTA has very few dredgers to complete the projects.
He said capital dredging of 53 more river routes was also added to the ongoing projects. Of them, works of 24 routes have started while 29 are awaiting approval.
"We have only 18 dredgers for such big dredging works. Now we are dredging the river routes which have national priority," he said.
Mr Huq said by 2019 BIWTA's dredging capacity will double if the planned dredgers can be collected.
The World Bank has come up with a proposal of providing Tk 280 million as soft loan for capital dredging of 53 river routes of the country. The proposal is under scrutiny with the government, he said.
According to the BIWTA projection in December last, the water draught of most of the river routes remained below 2.0 metres and highest 3.66 metres in case of a few routes.
Â Â Â syful-islam@outlook.com