Govt to purchase 10 dredgers by 2013
FHM Humayan Kabir | Wednesday, 6 April 2011
FHM Humayan Kabir
Bangladesh's river-routes are going to get a big boost as the government will purchase 10 dredgers for revamping the ailing water communications to transport nearly 13 per cent of its population, officials said Monday. Shipping ministry officials said Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) will invest Tk 7.46 billion for procuring 10 dredgers and related materials for eliminating silt on the river beds. "The government for the first time in history is going to purchase 10 dredgers at a time. The dredgers will help recover the country's ailing river flow and boost water communications," a senior ministry official said. If we can conduct continuous dredging at the major rivers, the country's ailing 24,000-kilometre waterways will get life for smooth transportation, he told the FE. Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries, where 274,000 kilometres of roads exist with its very few river and railway transport systems due to absence of the facilities compared to the total population. A BIWTA official said at present they have only seven dredgers, most of which are older in age. "If we renovate and refurbish the seven dredgers, their dredging capacity will stand at 2.0 million cubic metres per year," the official said. In addition, the dredging capacities of the state-owned Water Development Board (WDB) and the private sector are 4.15 million cubic metres per year. The BIWTA official said Bangladesh needs to dredge 18.0 million cubic metres of river per year. Since the total dredging capacities of BIWTA, WDB and the private sector are just around 6.0 million cubic metres per year, it needs more facilities to remove the silt on the river beds and waterways. The BIWTA official said they will procure 10 dredgers, 10 crane boats, three tug boats, 10 house boats and other related materials by December 2013 under a government-funded project. The project is awaiting the approval of Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), the government's highest economic policy making body.
Bangladesh's river-routes are going to get a big boost as the government will purchase 10 dredgers for revamping the ailing water communications to transport nearly 13 per cent of its population, officials said Monday. Shipping ministry officials said Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) will invest Tk 7.46 billion for procuring 10 dredgers and related materials for eliminating silt on the river beds. "The government for the first time in history is going to purchase 10 dredgers at a time. The dredgers will help recover the country's ailing river flow and boost water communications," a senior ministry official said. If we can conduct continuous dredging at the major rivers, the country's ailing 24,000-kilometre waterways will get life for smooth transportation, he told the FE. Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries, where 274,000 kilometres of roads exist with its very few river and railway transport systems due to absence of the facilities compared to the total population. A BIWTA official said at present they have only seven dredgers, most of which are older in age. "If we renovate and refurbish the seven dredgers, their dredging capacity will stand at 2.0 million cubic metres per year," the official said. In addition, the dredging capacities of the state-owned Water Development Board (WDB) and the private sector are 4.15 million cubic metres per year. The BIWTA official said Bangladesh needs to dredge 18.0 million cubic metres of river per year. Since the total dredging capacities of BIWTA, WDB and the private sector are just around 6.0 million cubic metres per year, it needs more facilities to remove the silt on the river beds and waterways. The BIWTA official said they will procure 10 dredgers, 10 crane boats, three tug boats, 10 house boats and other related materials by December 2013 under a government-funded project. The project is awaiting the approval of Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), the government's highest economic policy making body.