G2G option for Paira port development

Syful Islam | Published: March 03, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

The Ministry of Shipping (MoS) has started examining proposals from different countries to fund building Paira port under government to government (G-to-G) arrangement, officials said.
Some companies from various countries have expressed interest to fund construction of the country's third seaport in Patuakhali district, they added.
A seven-member committee, headed by joint secretary of Paira Port Authority (PPA), has been formed to scrutinise the proposals, mainly placed by Chinese and Danish companies.
The committee will accept proposals from interested foreign companies until mid-March, and submit a report by mid-April to MoS after scrutiny.
It will take into consideration technical capability, prior experience in port construction, and international rating of the interested companies while examining proposals.
According to officials, three Chinese companies - Guizhou No. 2 Electric Power Construction Company, China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd, and China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd - have submitted proposals to MoS, expressing interest to fund construction of Paira port.
Besides, several others Chinese state-owned entities have submitted proposal to the PPA chairman, and one Danish company expressed interest verbally to fund the port's construction.
Some of these companies have expressed interest to sign memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MoS to start preliminary work.
The Chinese companies in their proposals stated that they will arrange buyer's credit to fund construction of the port
A senior MoS official told the FE that the government has listed Paira port as a fast-track project to expedite its construction, as it is one of the election pledges of the present government.
He said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is showing increased interest regarding the project to start the port construction as soon as possible by arranging foreign fund.
Even the PMO recently asked the ministry concerned to report to the former if construction of the port is possible from the Chittagong Port Authority's (CPA) own fund.
PPA recently appointed a British consulting firm for conducting feasibility study on the port. A preliminary development project proposal (PDPP) is under preparation with the help of the consulting firm.
The official said the CPA itself has some Tk 70 billion in its account. "We are also considering if this fund can be used for construction of Paira seaport and establishing export processing zones in different places."
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