The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council on Sunday approved Tk 13,525.57-crore Bay Terminal Marine Infrastructure Development Project to conduct related works for constructing Bay Terminal in Chattogram.
The approval came from a meeting of the ECNEC held at the NEC Conference Room in the city鈥檚 Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area with ECNEC chairperson and chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus the chair.
The day鈥檚 ECNEC meeting approved 16 projects involving an estimated cost of Tk 24,247.24 crore. Of the total project cost, Tk 3001.34 crore will come from the government of Bangladesh, Tk 16,719.73 crore as project loan while Tk 4,526.17 crore from the concerned organisation鈥檚 own fund.
Of the approved 16 projects, 13 are new while three are revised projects.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, planning adviser Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud said that there were discussions for long for undertaking the Bay Terminal project.
He said that considering the growing business operations of the next 15 to 20 years and the geopolitical importance, the necessary facilities at the Chattogram Port had to be increased.
The adviser informed that following separate MoUs signed with the PPP Authority, the Terminal-1 of the Bay Terminal would be constructed by the Enterprise of Singapore while the Terminal-2 will be constructed by the DP World of UAE.
Out of the total project cost of Tk 13,525.57 crore, the World Bank鈥檚 Tk 9,333 crore loan support would help Bangladesh invest in infrastructure for developing the Bay Terminal deep seaport.
The Bay Terminal Marine Infrastructure Development Project will construct a 6-km climate-resilient breakwater to protect the harbour from the force of waves, current, and extreme weather.
It will also carry out dredging of the port basin, entrance, and access channels. The new, modern Bay Terminal, to be operated by leading international terminal operators, will accommodate larger size vessels, such as panamax vessels, and substantially decrease vessel turnaround time.
Currently, the Chattogram Port - which is the maritime gateway for over 90 per cent of Bangladesh鈥檚 international trade volume and 98 per cent of its container traffic - can only receive small feeder vessels during limited hours of the day.
Moreover, the project will mobilise private investment for the development of container terminals.
The World Bank investment along with the government funding will bolster investor confidence and contribute to mitigating risks associated with the overall Bay Terminal Development.
The Bay Terminal, located in the Anandangar/Sandwip channel, west of the Chattogram port and close to existing road and rail links to Dhaka, is expected to handle 36 per cent of Bangladesh鈥檚 container volumes.
Over one million people, half of whom women, are expected to directly benefit from improved access to sustainable transport services, including shipping companies, business communities, importers, exporters, and freight forwarders.
In this ECNEC meeting, the project for drilling of two deep exploratory wells at Titas and Bakhrabad Fields were approved for the 1st time during the interim government鈥檚 tenure through PPS software. Besides, the ECNEC meeting approved the time extension of two projects.
Apart from these, the ECNEC meeting was also apprised about five projects which were approved earlier by the planning adviser.
