Chittagong Port to play catalytic role in regional connectivity
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Pankaj Dastider
Chittagong Port, the country's prime maritime port, handles 92 per cent export and import cargoes of Bangladesh's sea-borne trade. It is called for this reason the Golden Gate to the economic development of the country. Total cargo handling growth of the port rose significantly at the rate of 22 per cent in the last fiscal year (2010-11). The container handling growth marked over 24 per cent during the same period, mainly due to a robust surge in export volume against the average container handling growth at 14 per cent over the past two decades since the 1990s. Officials said the Chittagong Port Authority, with its 8.5 per cent annual growth, is utilizing two-thirds of its existing capacity. Projects have been taken to construct 600-metre long Karnaphuli Container Terminal on the existing general cargo berths numbers 10, 11, 12 and 13 with construction of necessary back-up facilities and procurement of container handling equipment under DPP. Besides, the CPA has initiated automation of container tracking and management system (CTMS) management information system (MIS), procurement of oily waste collection vessel and solid waste collection vessel, process of employing global operators on supply, operate and transfer basis for New Mooring Container Terminal, multi-storey car parking shed construction, capital dredging in the Karnaphuli River, installation of radiation detection equipment and construction of Pangaon Inland Container Terminal for transportation of containers from Chittagong Port to Dhaka and other parts of the country. Port users allege that equipment deficiency poses challenges to the operational activities in the port as there is a 24 per cent deficit with respect to the sanctioned equipments. A large segment of the existing equipment remains inoperative or out of order for most of the time. Besides, there are irregularities in the management of dock workers in spite of the scrapping of the highly corrupt dock workers management board by the last caretaker government. Exporters and importers have to face financial losses due to alleged corruption by the Customs officials and placed often under a "go slow" policy by dock workers of the Port if they are not paid tips for loading and unloading of containers. Bribes have to be allegedly paid even to the white-collar pilots of the port. Experts say a vibrant Chittagong port could potentially become a hub city helping the country in terms of growth and employment. The hub city in turn emerges due to economies of scale and technological improvements of transportation. It needs to be equipped with facilities like physical infrastructure, such as roads and highways, railway and inland waterways, advanced information and technology, power and energy, banking and finance, hotels and restaurants, administrative, specially effective law enforcing machinery to ensure safe passage of foreign goods and, above all, a corruption-free business atmosphere. Around 40 per cent of the heavy industrial activities of the country are located in Chittagong city and adjoining areas. They include dockyard, dry dock, oil refinery, steel mill, power generation plant, cement clinker factory, automobile industry, pharmaceutical plant, chemical plant, cable manufacturing plant, textile mill, jute mill, paper mill, fertilizer factory etc. There are two state-controlled export processing zones - Chittagong EPZ and Karnaphuli EPZ. Youngone Corporation, a Korean company, has established an export processing zone at Anowara on the south bank of Karnaphuli River. Most of the entrepreneurs from abroad have come up with FDI in these special export processing zones. Major business houses of the country are based in this region. Apex trade body Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry has erected a multipurpose commercial tower World Trade Centre while the CDA and Parjatan Corporation will jointly construct another 20-storied Commercial Bhaban at the BPC Motel Soikat site on the Station Road in the city to facilitate businesses to the local and foreign commercial establishments. The Public Undertakings Committee (PUC) of the Jatiya Sangsad in April 2010 laid emphasis on overall capacity building and modernization of Chittagong Port to build it as an ideal regional transport hub so that it can provide services to all the neighbouring countries against the backdrop of a rapidly expanding regional trade. Professor Nitai C Nag of the Chittagong University in his paper presented at the regional seminar of Bangladesh Economics Association last February said proposal for rail link connecting Kunming in Yunnan province of China with Chittagong via Myanmar has been considered as very important as part of the Trans Asian Railway project of the ESCAP (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) of the United Nations. China being the only country having the required funds and engineering experts for undertaking the projects in Myanmar and Bangladesh has shown interest in the implementation of the TAR project because it will benefit China economically and strategically, experts "According to the Bangladesh authority, while the construction of a line connecting Dohazari with Gundum should pose no problem for the Chinese engineers, connecting Gundum with Yunnan would be more complex since tunnels will have to be constructed at some places," Prof Nag said, adding Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh told Dhaka authorities on September 15, 2010 that Myanmar had agreed to the proposal for construction of a tri-nation highway connecting Chittagong and Kunming city through Myanmar, although Myanmar had earlier told Bangladesh minister Hasan Mahmud that Myanmar had kept the decision on Bangladesh proposal in this regard pending. The ambassador also hinted that Bangladesh and China are going ahead with two more proposals: a) China's assistance for up-gradation of Chittagong Port and b) construction of a deep sea port at Sonadia Island. In March 2010 the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina went to Beijing on a state visit and requested Chinese President Hu Jintao to build the Chittagong - Kunming Road through Myanmar. On the other hand, the Asian Highway is to connect the Southeast Asian countries to Bangladesh through Myanmar. Bangladesh's geographic location thus allows her to serve as the gateway between South and Southeast Asia. Chittagong will be required to play the role of a hub city facilitating growth of trade, business and commercial activities of the two emerging regions. India has taken a Rupee 450 billion hydro project aiming to harness the resources of Myanmar's Chindwin river basin linking the project to Northern India through transmission lines. The India government funded the building of a road that joined Moreh in Monipur of India with Mandalay, the second largest city of Myanmar. Bangladesh envisions Chittagong as a transshipment hub for trade flowing in and out of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and China through developing a network of river, rail and road links. She is quite pragmatic as regards methods to be followed. Just as she is considering road and rail links between Chittagong and Kunming she has also signed agreement with New Delhi for transshipment of Indian goods through Bangladesh to land-locked state of Tripura. Bangladesh will also welcome Indian investment in the Chittagong Port and the deep sea port at Sonadia, said Dr Dipu Moni. "We want all our neighbours to take part in developing Chittagong Port and Sonadia Island, and that includes India too."
Chittagong Port, the country's prime maritime port, handles 92 per cent export and import cargoes of Bangladesh's sea-borne trade. It is called for this reason the Golden Gate to the economic development of the country. Total cargo handling growth of the port rose significantly at the rate of 22 per cent in the last fiscal year (2010-11). The container handling growth marked over 24 per cent during the same period, mainly due to a robust surge in export volume against the average container handling growth at 14 per cent over the past two decades since the 1990s. Officials said the Chittagong Port Authority, with its 8.5 per cent annual growth, is utilizing two-thirds of its existing capacity. Projects have been taken to construct 600-metre long Karnaphuli Container Terminal on the existing general cargo berths numbers 10, 11, 12 and 13 with construction of necessary back-up facilities and procurement of container handling equipment under DPP. Besides, the CPA has initiated automation of container tracking and management system (CTMS) management information system (MIS), procurement of oily waste collection vessel and solid waste collection vessel, process of employing global operators on supply, operate and transfer basis for New Mooring Container Terminal, multi-storey car parking shed construction, capital dredging in the Karnaphuli River, installation of radiation detection equipment and construction of Pangaon Inland Container Terminal for transportation of containers from Chittagong Port to Dhaka and other parts of the country. Port users allege that equipment deficiency poses challenges to the operational activities in the port as there is a 24 per cent deficit with respect to the sanctioned equipments. A large segment of the existing equipment remains inoperative or out of order for most of the time. Besides, there are irregularities in the management of dock workers in spite of the scrapping of the highly corrupt dock workers management board by the last caretaker government. Exporters and importers have to face financial losses due to alleged corruption by the Customs officials and placed often under a "go slow" policy by dock workers of the Port if they are not paid tips for loading and unloading of containers. Bribes have to be allegedly paid even to the white-collar pilots of the port. Experts say a vibrant Chittagong port could potentially become a hub city helping the country in terms of growth and employment. The hub city in turn emerges due to economies of scale and technological improvements of transportation. It needs to be equipped with facilities like physical infrastructure, such as roads and highways, railway and inland waterways, advanced information and technology, power and energy, banking and finance, hotels and restaurants, administrative, specially effective law enforcing machinery to ensure safe passage of foreign goods and, above all, a corruption-free business atmosphere. Around 40 per cent of the heavy industrial activities of the country are located in Chittagong city and adjoining areas. They include dockyard, dry dock, oil refinery, steel mill, power generation plant, cement clinker factory, automobile industry, pharmaceutical plant, chemical plant, cable manufacturing plant, textile mill, jute mill, paper mill, fertilizer factory etc. There are two state-controlled export processing zones - Chittagong EPZ and Karnaphuli EPZ. Youngone Corporation, a Korean company, has established an export processing zone at Anowara on the south bank of Karnaphuli River. Most of the entrepreneurs from abroad have come up with FDI in these special export processing zones. Major business houses of the country are based in this region. Apex trade body Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry has erected a multipurpose commercial tower World Trade Centre while the CDA and Parjatan Corporation will jointly construct another 20-storied Commercial Bhaban at the BPC Motel Soikat site on the Station Road in the city to facilitate businesses to the local and foreign commercial establishments. The Public Undertakings Committee (PUC) of the Jatiya Sangsad in April 2010 laid emphasis on overall capacity building and modernization of Chittagong Port to build it as an ideal regional transport hub so that it can provide services to all the neighbouring countries against the backdrop of a rapidly expanding regional trade. Professor Nitai C Nag of the Chittagong University in his paper presented at the regional seminar of Bangladesh Economics Association last February said proposal for rail link connecting Kunming in Yunnan province of China with Chittagong via Myanmar has been considered as very important as part of the Trans Asian Railway project of the ESCAP (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) of the United Nations. China being the only country having the required funds and engineering experts for undertaking the projects in Myanmar and Bangladesh has shown interest in the implementation of the TAR project because it will benefit China economically and strategically, experts "According to the Bangladesh authority, while the construction of a line connecting Dohazari with Gundum should pose no problem for the Chinese engineers, connecting Gundum with Yunnan would be more complex since tunnels will have to be constructed at some places," Prof Nag said, adding Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh told Dhaka authorities on September 15, 2010 that Myanmar had agreed to the proposal for construction of a tri-nation highway connecting Chittagong and Kunming city through Myanmar, although Myanmar had earlier told Bangladesh minister Hasan Mahmud that Myanmar had kept the decision on Bangladesh proposal in this regard pending. The ambassador also hinted that Bangladesh and China are going ahead with two more proposals: a) China's assistance for up-gradation of Chittagong Port and b) construction of a deep sea port at Sonadia Island. In March 2010 the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina went to Beijing on a state visit and requested Chinese President Hu Jintao to build the Chittagong - Kunming Road through Myanmar. On the other hand, the Asian Highway is to connect the Southeast Asian countries to Bangladesh through Myanmar. Bangladesh's geographic location thus allows her to serve as the gateway between South and Southeast Asia. Chittagong will be required to play the role of a hub city facilitating growth of trade, business and commercial activities of the two emerging regions. India has taken a Rupee 450 billion hydro project aiming to harness the resources of Myanmar's Chindwin river basin linking the project to Northern India through transmission lines. The India government funded the building of a road that joined Moreh in Monipur of India with Mandalay, the second largest city of Myanmar. Bangladesh envisions Chittagong as a transshipment hub for trade flowing in and out of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and China through developing a network of river, rail and road links. She is quite pragmatic as regards methods to be followed. Just as she is considering road and rail links between Chittagong and Kunming she has also signed agreement with New Delhi for transshipment of Indian goods through Bangladesh to land-locked state of Tripura. Bangladesh will also welcome Indian investment in the Chittagong Port and the deep sea port at Sonadia, said Dr Dipu Moni. "We want all our neighbours to take part in developing Chittagong Port and Sonadia Island, and that includes India too."