Govt to ratify UN accord to develop dry-ports

Rezaul Karim | Published: January 18, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

The government has decided to ratify a United Nations (UN) agreement on dry-ports with a view to developing the country's dry-ports, officials said.
In 2014 Bangladesh signed the Intergovernmental Agreement on Dry Ports of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
The government signed the accord to facilitate bilateral/trilateral trade with the neighbouring countries - India, Nepal, Myanmar and Bhutan.
The deal has not been ratified yet. So, it is not effective in the country, an official of the Bangladesh Land Port Authority (BLPA) told the FE on Sunday.
An inter-ministerial meeting has taken the decision of ratifying the agreement on dry-ports. The authority concerned will submit a proposal to the cabinet, seeking its approval for ratifying the agreement and taking next course of action, said a senior official of the Ministry of Shipping, who attended the meeting.
As of January 2016, the UN agreement has been signed by 17 states. These are - Armenia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Iran, the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
Among these, Russia, Korea, Tajikistan, Thailand and Vietnam have ratified the agreement. Besides, process of ratification is going on by the rest of the countries.
The accord will promote international recognition of dry-ports, facilitate investment in infrastructure, improve operational efficiency of intermodal transport services, establish guiding principles for development and operation of dry-ports, and enhance environmental sustainability of freight transport, said a high official of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC).
The agreement will also help in connectivity and integration of the Asian highway network, the trans-Asian railways network and other modes by developing the dry-ports, he added.
In the inter-ministerial meeting the BLPA chairman said Bangladesh will be gainer, if it ratifies the deal. Currently, BLPA is following the guiding principles, mentioned in the deal.
Infrastructure of the dry-ports will be upgraded to international level as well as import and export activities will be more convenient under the UN-ESCAP agreement.
Presently, the number of land-ports in the country is 22. Of these, five ports - Sonamosjid, Hili, Teknaf, Bibirbazar and Banglabandha - are in operation under build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.
On the other hand, Benapole, Burimari, Akhaura, Nakugaon and Bhomra land-ports are being operated through BLPA's own management.
The agreement on dry-ports is a 2013 UN treaty, designed to promote cooperation for development of dry-ports in the Asia-Pacific region.
Â Â Â rezamumu@gmail.com