BD, India to sign waterway tourism deal

Finance Minister AMA Muhith said Wednesday Bangladesh is planning to sign an agreement with India to promote waterway tourism.
"Presently the two close neighbours have a shipping deal on cargo and goods transportation, signed in 1965. Besides, they also have deal on passenger movement through roads and railways. Now we need to sign a deal with India for facilitating passenger movement through river routes to promote tourism," he told newsmen after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Tourism at the secretariat.   
Foreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, shipping minister Shajahan Khan, civil aviation and tourism minister Rashed Khan Menon, and state minister for home affairs Asaduzzaman Khan attended the meeting, among others.
Mr Muhith said the deal will be signed after getting the prime minister's approval.  
"There's an international waterway route from Singapore connecting different countries. We will try to include ourselves in that route."
The finance minister said police protection in tourist spots will be beefed up, taking into consideration the tourists' security.
"The Chittagong Hill Tracts is a special area for tourism. Security of the area needs to be heightened."
He also focussed on giving importance to Cox's Bazar city protection programme.    
Mr Muhith also said a large-scale festival will be organised in fiscal year 2018-19 in Sonargaon to help promote tourism in the country.
The minister emphasised the need for communicating with international package tour operators alongside organising river-based special tourism programmes.
He stressed establishing rail connectivity among Cox's Bazar and different areas of the country as well as developing road and water connectivity with Kuakata to promote tourism.
"The tourism industry in Bangladesh has grown substantially," he added.
UNB adds, the Cabinet Economic Affairs Committee Wednesday in principle approved four proposals, including setting up a tourist zone in Cox's Bazar under public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.
The tourism projects include setting up one exclusive tourist zone (ETZ) and one international standard tourist complex in a government-owned existing tourist motel, at two separate locations in Cox's Bazar.
The other two approved proposals are setting up a shopping mall-cum-guest house on railway land in Khulna district under PPP, and direct issuance of request for proposal (RFP) to developer for establishing an economic zone in Bagerhat district.
A meeting of the cabinet body, with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair, approved the proposals.