Fresh feasibility study for deep-sea port planned

The government has decided to conduct a feasibility study anew before going for construction of a deep-sea port at Sonadia in Cox's Bazar, officials said.
The decision has been taken as a previous feasibility study of 2006 has become outdated considering the latest needs, they added.
Besides, the country's victory in maritime dispute case with India which yielded 19,467 square km area of the Bay of Bengal to Bangladesh has guided the government to rethink about the port.        
"When the feasibility study was conducted in 2006, the present sea area was not under our control. The victory has opened up new windows for us. So, we need to redesign the proposed deep-sea port considering the latest needs," senior secretary of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Abul Kalam Azad told the FE.
He said a fresh study will be carried out incorporating various facilities which were not included in the previous one.
Officials said Japanese firm, Pacific Consultant International (PCI), had conducted a feasibility study some eight years back suggesting at the first stage setting up of five international standard jetties with the capacity to handle a total of 704.01 million tonnes of containers a year. The construction cost was then estimated at Tk 600 billion.   
They said while conducting the study, the PCI did not consider inclusion of coal, oil, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) jetties  in the deep-sea port which  nowadays are felt very much necessary considering the growing energy needs.
They also said after carrying out a quick scan on the feasibility study, the Netherlands suggested formation of a company for conducting detailed feasibility study, incorporating additional facilities, and conducting environmental study before going for construction of the port.
A senior official at the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) said the cost, estimated in 2006, has already increased several times and inclusion of additional facilities will further increase it. "So, a fresh and detailed study is very much needed to get an actual idea about its prospect as well as cost."
Sources said while discussing update regarding deep-sea port, the first track project monitoring committee last week at a meeting at the PMO talked about involving Japan in the construction of the port.
The meeting was informally told that the JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) is funding construction of the Matarbari 1,200 MW coal-fired power plant in Matarbari Island, close to the place selected for construction of the deep-sea port in Sonadia in Cox's Bazar.
Since the JICA is funding the power plant project, it can be requested to finance the deep-sea port project as well, the meeting was further told.
In June last, Bangladesh at the last minute dropped signing of a deal with China on deep-sea port construction.
Many other countries including the Netherlands, Germany, India, Denmark, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates expressed interest to invest in construction of the port.
The UAE-based DP World, the Netherlands and China presented their plans on the port construction at the PMO through power-point presentation.
Officials said the government high-ups had planned formation of a consortium to fund construction of the deep-sea port, instead of depending on one single funding source.
They said as Bangladesh's ports have become very important for connectivity in South Asian region, many are interested to invest here for good and quick return.
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