Sonadia may be selected as deep sea port site today
Thursday, 19 July 2007
Shakhawat Hossain
The cabinet committee on economic affairs is likely to select Sonadia, near Cox's Bazar, as a site for the proposed deep sea port (DSP) at a meeting today (Thursday), official source said.
To be chaired by finance and planning adviser Mirza Azizul Islam, the meeting will review recommendations by consultant, and inter-ministerial and technical committees.
A technical committee, headed by the director general of shipping, last month chose Sonadia, a nine square kilometer island on the Bay of Bengal, about seven kilometres off Cox's Bazar, as the most suitable site for the proposed DSP.
Earlier, Japanese firm Pacific Consultants International (PCL) identified Sonadia and Kutubdia as the possible sites for the proposed DSP and suggested the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) to select one.
The inter-ministerial meeting under the MoS assigned the technical committee to choose the suitable site between Sonadia and Kutubdia.
A member of the committee said they found the land development cost lower in Sonadia than that of Kutubdia.
"Dredging work at the Sonadia point will be environment friendly and the natural surrounding of the island will provide a suitable shelter," he added.
Sonadia is being considered as the best site for the required water level of 14 metres within its three-kilometre area that will help ships to maneouver easily.
Besides, deposit of silt at Sonadia point is negligible and the site is suitable for further development on both sides.
Adviser for shipping MA Matin has said the mega project will cost Tk 420 billion and it will be implemented in three phases by 2055.
But the port can be made operational by 2012 if the work on the project starts now.
As per the project proposal, the Chittagong Port Authority will bear 30 per cent of the total cost. The government intends to raise the rest of the fund from the capital market, sources said.
The interim government may also approach the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for arranging funds for the mega project.
The study by the Pacific predicts that the DSP will, by 2035, become the only international port in Bangladesh to be able to handle all the seaborne container ships to and from the country.
The consultant has already submitted five reports.
It will prepare five more reports including a conceptual design, project appraisal and project management model and guarantee of other services after the official recognisation of the site.
Besides, the committee at the meeting will also review the proposal of upward price adjustment for urea fertiliser against the backdrop of rising production cost and price hike of the item in the international market, source added.
The cabinet committee on economic affairs is likely to select Sonadia, near Cox's Bazar, as a site for the proposed deep sea port (DSP) at a meeting today (Thursday), official source said.
To be chaired by finance and planning adviser Mirza Azizul Islam, the meeting will review recommendations by consultant, and inter-ministerial and technical committees.
A technical committee, headed by the director general of shipping, last month chose Sonadia, a nine square kilometer island on the Bay of Bengal, about seven kilometres off Cox's Bazar, as the most suitable site for the proposed DSP.
Earlier, Japanese firm Pacific Consultants International (PCL) identified Sonadia and Kutubdia as the possible sites for the proposed DSP and suggested the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) to select one.
The inter-ministerial meeting under the MoS assigned the technical committee to choose the suitable site between Sonadia and Kutubdia.
A member of the committee said they found the land development cost lower in Sonadia than that of Kutubdia.
"Dredging work at the Sonadia point will be environment friendly and the natural surrounding of the island will provide a suitable shelter," he added.
Sonadia is being considered as the best site for the required water level of 14 metres within its three-kilometre area that will help ships to maneouver easily.
Besides, deposit of silt at Sonadia point is negligible and the site is suitable for further development on both sides.
Adviser for shipping MA Matin has said the mega project will cost Tk 420 billion and it will be implemented in three phases by 2055.
But the port can be made operational by 2012 if the work on the project starts now.
As per the project proposal, the Chittagong Port Authority will bear 30 per cent of the total cost. The government intends to raise the rest of the fund from the capital market, sources said.
The interim government may also approach the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for arranging funds for the mega project.
The study by the Pacific predicts that the DSP will, by 2035, become the only international port in Bangladesh to be able to handle all the seaborne container ships to and from the country.
The consultant has already submitted five reports.
It will prepare five more reports including a conceptual design, project appraisal and project management model and guarantee of other services after the official recognisation of the site.
Besides, the committee at the meeting will also review the proposal of upward price adjustment for urea fertiliser against the backdrop of rising production cost and price hike of the item in the international market, source added.