Bangladesh News Desk: Mongla Port, the second largest seaport in Bangladesh, is going to be upgraded to a third generation one by Egis India Consulting Engineers Pvt Ltd.
To this effect, an agreement was signed between Mongla Port Authority (MPA) and Egis India Consulting Engineers Pvt Ltd at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden on Monday.
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury attended the agreement-signing ceremony as the chief guest while Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Kumar Verma was present as the special guest.
Rear Admiral Mohammad Musa, chairman of the Mongla Port Authority, presided over the programme.
Laurent Germain, CEO of Egis Group, Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director of Egis India, Sanjay Sagar, director (rail) of Egis Group, Jitendra K Panigrahi, deputy director and head of port of Egis India, Manoj Nainani, director (water & ports) of Egis India, Md Mahfuz Miah, country manager (Bangladesh) of Egis Group, Parvez Imdad, manager (operations & IT) were also present on the occasion.
Mongla Port Project will be implemented under the development fund of Bangladesh government and Line of Credit (LoC) of the Indian government.
The estimated cost of the project is Tk 6,014.6190 crore, of which the Bangladesh government will contribute Tk 1555.2091 and project assistance Tk 4459.4099 crore. The project is expected to be completed by July 30, 2024.
The project includes construction of container terminal including all facilities at jetty no 1 and 2, container handling yard, container delivery yard, expansion of port protected area with security system, service vessel jetty, shed and office, port residential complex and community facilities, expansion of Bandar Bhaban (administration building), mechanical workshop, equipment yard, equipment shed and MT pool, marine workshop complex with shipway, overpass at Digraj Rail Crossing, procurement of harbor crafts (8 nos), 1 no multi storied car yard and expansion of existing main road upto 6 lanes bypass road upto 4 lanes and internal road upto two lanes.
In his address, Khalid Mahmud said Mongla port suffered a setback after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975. After the Awami League came to power in 2009, Sheikh Hasina took massive steps to upgrade the port.
Highlighting the potential of the port, he said Mongla Port is close to Chittagong Port in terms of facilities and it is the only port with railway connectivity.
A modernised port, Mongla Port, will boost trade and commerce, employment, Sundarbans tourism, and multimodal connectivity, he said.
According to him, the shipping and water resources sectors will play an instrumental role in reshaping Bangladesh’s future development.
Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma has highlighted that Bangladesh is India’s largest development partner both in terms of value and number of projects.
He said nearly one-fourth of India’s global development assistance is extended to various projects in Bangladesh, covering a variety of sectors.
“The ceremony today is reflection of importance attached by our two governments to this project and our development partnership. India and Bangladesh are two countries bonded together by history, geography, culture and people-to-people ties,” he said.
This robust development cooperation is a reflection of India’s commitment to partnering with Bangladesh in its journey towards greater growth and prosperity, the Indian envoy said.
The project is being financed under the government of India concessional Line of Credit of USD 4.5 billion extended to the government of Bangladesh, reads a statement from the High Commission of India.
Pranay Verma in his speech emphasised that various connectivity projects like the Mongla Port project, once completed, would have a transformational impact on not only India-Bangladesh economic relations but also on the economy of the entire sub-region.
The government of India has extended four concessional Lines of Credit to the government of Bangladesh till date, worth USD 7.862 billion. Under the concessional loans, 42 projects have been taken up so far. Of these, 14 projects have already been completed and the remaining are in various stages of implementation.
Over USD 2 billion worth of projects have been contracted and actual disbursements have crossed USD 1 billion, significantly picking up pace despite the severe challenges presented by the pandemic.
The ‘Upgradation of Mongla Port’ project is the largest project in the Shipping/Ports sector which the government of India is financing under its concessional loans.
The development of this port will strengthen maritime connectivity for Bangladesh, not just for the movement of goods with India but also with Bhutan and Nepal.
India is also providing concessional financing for the Khulna-Mongla Port rail line project and the Khulna-Darsana rail line project and with the completion of these projects, Mongla Port would become the only port in Bangladesh with rail connectivity, making it a truly multimodal hub and unlocking immense economic potential.
In his speech, Rear Admiral Mohammad Musa, Chairman of the Mongla Port Authority, expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for taking timely steps to upgrade Mongla Port.
Mongla port is playing a vital role in overall development in the country, especially the southern region, he said, adding that the upgrade will pave way for job opportunity and regional connectivity.
The port will accelerate the potential of the Padma Bridge having multimodal connectivity with India, Bhutan and Nepal, he noted.
He said the port has already seen many improvements under the visionary leadership of the prime minister.
Mongla Port Authority has long term and short term plans to further hike its capacity to handle cargo, vehicles and goods many times higher than now under the upgradation projects, he added.
