Leadership needed to ensure deep sea port is a success

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We welcome the government’s announcement that work on the proposed Matarbari port is scheduled to start early in 2016.

Bangladesh badly needs new deep sea port facilities to develop the economy.

The president of the Japanese agency JICA, which is supporting the project, has said it envisions building electricity transmission lines, highways and rail links to create a new gateway and industrial corridor to boost trade and attract new investment.

Experts estimate the site should be deep enough to host the largest container vessels and allow much speedier turnaround times than existing ports at Chittagong and Mongla, because its waters will be deep enough to be less constrained by changing tides.

It is time to seize the compelling economic case to build a new deep sea port. Despite long-standing interest from port operators in China, Netherlands, and UAE, decisions on this matter of crucial national significance have been delayed for far too long.

We are encouraged the state minister for finance and planning, hopes there is still room for new ports at both Matarbari and Sonadia where China is in talks to develop a major new port.

The government must now provide pro-active leadership to ensure new facilities are built to maximise long term benefits, while minimising environmenal impacts and tying in with the growth opportunities sought by the BCIM corridor.

Bangladesh hasn’t built a new seaport since independence. With existing ports under pressure, the opportunity costs of failing to act are too great not to speed up decision making.

Source: Dhaka Tribune