PAYRA PORT : Govt weighs Delhi’s proposal

Dhaka is considering a proposal made by Delhi for allowing India to construct Payra Sea Port in Patuakhali under a government-to-government deal in a major policy shift, officials said.
Delhi has been showing keen interest in the proposed port along with Britain, Netherlands and China since the present government decided to build it in 2013.
India made the latest proposal at the shipping secretary-level meeting between the two countries held in late November in Delhi.
Immediate past shipping secretary Shafique Al Mehdi led the Bangladesh delegation at the meeting in which Payra port was discussed prominently besides sensitive transit fees on the water routes.
The government scuttled a government-to-government deal with China in the last minute in June 2014 saying that it favoured consortium-based investment instead of relying on a single country to build Sonadia Deep Sea Port
Shafique told New Age on Saturday that India wanted to construct the Payra port under a government-to government deal despite knowing the fact that a massive dredging would be needed to make the port operational.
British firm HR Wallingford, appointed in January for the feasibility study on the port, in its draft report stated that about 35 per cent of the estimated cost of $20 billion needed to be spent for dredging, said shipping ministry officials.
The government has agreed to give the feasibility report to India at the meeting in Delhi, said Shafique, adding that it would help India assess the total investment.
The shipping ministry officials said that the proposed Sonadia Deep Sea Port was almost shelved after the government refused to award the contract to China during prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s visist to Beijing in June 2014.
Principal secretary Sheikh Wahiduzzaman, who was chief of a government committee on the deep sea port, said that the government should prefer consortium for the development of the ports.
He said that the country’s geo-political location was vital to maximise benefits from the ports.
Bangladesh has limited resources and needs huge investment in its port infrastructure to increase competitiveness of the local products, he said.
Centre for policy dialogue executive director Mustafizur Rahman said that frequent changes in policy would not help the country to develop its much needed port infrastructure timely.
Mustafiz said there should be continuation of government policies.
On November 19, 2013, the prime minister formally inaugurated the Payra Sea Port as the country’s 3rd sea port at Ramnabad Channel of Kalapara upazila in Patuakhali.
Shipping minister Shahjahan Khan said that the Payra Sea Port would go on operation in this month.
In addition to the new port, country’s prime port in Chittagong accounts 80 per cent of the country’s sea borne trades.

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