ECNEC approves three projects worth Tk 4.16b

FE Report
The government Tuesday approved a Tk 857.6 million cost project for procuring cargo and container handling equipment for the Mongla seaport aimed at enhancing capacity of the country's second largest port.
Presided over by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the above scheme along with two other projects at a combine cost of Tk 4.16 billion.
Emerging from the ECNEC meeting, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the Mongla Port Authority will procure the container and cargo handling tools by June 2016.
The port authority will purchase those equipment including a 100 tonnes capacity tyre mounted mobile crane, a 50 tonnes capacity mobile crane, seven fork-lifts, 6 low-musts, two reach- strakers, 3 straddle carriers at a cost of 857.6 million, officials said.
The Planning Minister said the capacity of the Mongla port needs to be improved for catering the future expected growth of cargo handling for the international trade.
In financial year (FY) 2007-08, the Mongla Port handled 0.723 million tonnes of cargos and 20,885 TEUS (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units) of containers which boosted to 3.15 million tonnes of cargos and 43,837 TEUs of containers in last FY2013.
The government said the cargo and container handling will be grown at a 10 percent rate at the Mongla port after construction of the Padma Bridge.
Considering the water-logging at the Chittagong metropolitan, the ECNEC meeting also endorsed "Digging of a canal between Baddarhat (Baroipara) to Karnaphuli River in Chittagong city" at a Tk 2.89 billion cost, Mr Mustafa Kamal said.
Under the project, the Chittagong City Corporation will dig the 2.9 kilometres canal and some ponds to save the city from the water-logging by the heavy rainfall, he said.
The ECNEC Tuesday approved another "Building of a bridge on Kushiara River on the Pagla-Jagannathpur-Raniganj-Auskandi highways" at a cost of Tk 1.27 billion.
Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed, Agriculture minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, Expatriate welfare and overseas employment minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, other ministers and officials concerned attended the ECNEC meeting.