Govt mulls forming seaports authority
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Talha Bin Habib
The government is planning to bring all the seaports under a single authority to develop the ports and gear up their activities, officials said. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Shipping has urged the ministry concerned to submit a report after conducting a feasibility study on formation of the proposed port authority. A meeting in this regard was held last month with the shipping secretary in the chair. Officials of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), Chittagong and Mongla ports, and other concerned departments were present in the meeting. At present, the authorities of the ports cannot function smoothly to some extent due to bureaucratic tangles, said an official, who participated in the meeting. "The proposed port authority will have power to coordinate and monitor the activities of the Chittagong and Mongla ports," a joint secretary of the Shipping Ministry said. "The ministry has been working on it, and will submit a report to the Parliamentary Standing Committee in the second week of May for further review," he added. He said the functions of the proposed port authority will be like the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) that coordinates and supervises all the country's export processing zones (EPZs). "We are examining the matter, and will submit our report to the Parliamentary Standing Committee," Shipping Secretary Md Abdul Mannan Howlader told the FE.
The government is planning to bring all the seaports under a single authority to develop the ports and gear up their activities, officials said. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Shipping has urged the ministry concerned to submit a report after conducting a feasibility study on formation of the proposed port authority. A meeting in this regard was held last month with the shipping secretary in the chair. Officials of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), Chittagong and Mongla ports, and other concerned departments were present in the meeting. At present, the authorities of the ports cannot function smoothly to some extent due to bureaucratic tangles, said an official, who participated in the meeting. "The proposed port authority will have power to coordinate and monitor the activities of the Chittagong and Mongla ports," a joint secretary of the Shipping Ministry said. "The ministry has been working on it, and will submit a report to the Parliamentary Standing Committee in the second week of May for further review," he added. He said the functions of the proposed port authority will be like the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) that coordinates and supervises all the country's export processing zones (EPZs). "We are examining the matter, and will submit our report to the Parliamentary Standing Committee," Shipping Secretary Md Abdul Mannan Howlader told the FE.