Mongla Port viability planned

Mongla: The government has planned to take up massive development programmes to enhance the efficiency of Mongla Port and solve its operational problems to make the country’s second maritime port commercially viable.


The shipping ministry at a recent meeting with adviser MA Matin in the chair reviewed the existing operations and management of the port and discussed ways and means to remove the barriers to its smooth operation.


The meeting also reviewed the progress of ongoing projects and decided to take up a number of new projects for ensuring smooth export-import trade through the port, meeting sources said.


Poor navigability of Pashur Channel, little or no access to road and rail communications to and from the port, absence of an airport adjacent to the port, and lack of modern cargo handling equipment, container terminal and other necessary trade-supporting infrastructures impede the port’s services, Mongla Port Authority said at the meeting.


Although the food department was supposed to handle 60 per cent of imports of food grains through Mongla Port, the decision was not being implemented accordingly, the meeting was told.


Presently less than 15 per cent of imported food grains are being handled through Mongla Port, the port authority said in the meeting.


It emphasised the need to construct the proposed Padma bridge on Dhaka-Mawa-Mongla route, establish rail communications between Khulna and Mongla, construct an air port at Fhaila area and set up a container terminal at Khanpur with a handling capacity of 60,000 twenty-feet equivalent units (TEUs) to give the port better connectivity and equip it to serve the external trade efficiently.


Shipping officials said the government had already taken up a Tk 58.46 crore dredging project to keep Pashur channel navigable. Negotiations are on with the civil aviation and railway authorities to restore direct air and rail links with the port.


The shipping adviser told the meeting that the government would implement the projects, which have already been undertaken, and take up more projects, if necessary, to make the port efficient and viable.


‘The adviser assured us of all necessary supports to make the port commercially viable and said the projects will be implemented without further delay,’ Mongla Port Authority chairman Ashraf Mohammad Iqbal said.


If the pipelined projects are implemented accordingly, the port will be able to make large-scale
contribution to the growth of external trade as well as the government’s revenue earnings, the port chief hoped.


‘Despite all impediments, the port earned about Tk 2500 crore in the last fiscal and deposited a revenue of Tk 300 crore to exchequer,’ Iqbal said.