Deep Sea Port of Bangladesh

Deep Sea Port of Bangladesh Introduction The Bangladesh Government is considering to establish a deep water sea-port at Sonadia Island. Sonadia Island is a part of the Moheskhali upazila in Cox’s Bazar district located between 21°28'26.92"N 91°55'53.74"E and 21°32'49.47"N 91°50'38.45"E. Consisting of gently sloping low-lying coast unprotected from the sea, Sonadia Island has formed as a barrier island just south-west of Moheshkhali Island. Natural sandy breakwaters face parallel to the flat coastlines of Moheshkhali. To the east a small channel separates the two islands while to the southeast shallow bays separate it by 3.5 km from the mainland Cox's Bazar. Sonadia is considered ecologically important by the government and in 1999 was declared as an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA). Second suitable site option (of similar depth) about 20 km north at Kutubdia Island. This alternative site is less important for biodiversity as compared to Sonadia Island History Deep sea port Bangladesh is discussing about deep sea port since 2002. The former elected govt took initiative to study the feasibility of a deep sea port. But it did not go further. Then caretaker government in its took initiatives to explore the possibility of deep sea port. But after the feasibility study by a Japanese firm Pacific Consultant International (PCI) which stated that Tk 42,000 crore would be spent for the port to be completed in three phases by the year 2055. The caretaker government abandoned the process on the plea that it will take long time and huge amount of money, the project of such magnitude could only be taken by a elected government. But the main reason to avoid the plan is likely to avoid political criticism. Established Reason Medium and large vessels cannot enter any of the country’s two seaports– Chittagong and Mongla–due to relatively low water levels in the Karnaphuli and Passur channel. This force exporters and importers to depend on feeder vessels to carry out their overseas trade. For this reason more time required for export & import and expense will increased. Development Chronology A Japanese consultancy firm named Pacific Consultant International (PCI) conducted a feasibility survey for the construction of the deep-water seaport. The proposed port would have 58 jetties, with a total length of 11 kilometers. The plan

is to build the port in three phases, with an expenditure of US $8.6 billion. The Bangladesh government will seek project funding from international donors. The first phase would be completed by 2016 and the full development finished by 2055. The Chinese government has already assured Bangladesh of providing support for the project which was also discussed during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's recent visit to China. The deep seaport would be constructed replicating the model of Yantian Port of China as a team headed by Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan has already visited a number of ports in China, Malaysia and India. Government recent activity ► The ministry has already completed the process for making design and outlining the activities of the port. ► The government was floated a tender previous week for prequalification study to select a consulting firm for the planned deep seaport at Sonadia in Chittagong. ► The issue of the Chinese support for the project is expected to be finalized very soon. Besides, India, USA, Netherlands and a number of European countries offered their support for the project. ► The full job has been divided into three phase. The port is likely to go into operation with by 2017. Construction of the first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed by 2020. The second phase of the deep sea port will complete by 2035 and final phase by 2050. Physical Construction There would be six harbours in every 300 meter wide berth. Every harvour will be three times bigger than the present capacity of the Newmooring Container Terminal (NCT) at Chittagong Port with the capacity to handle five goodscarrying and four container-carrying ships. The port will have separate loading and unloading area for export and import goods. The port will be well-connected with road and rail networks, inland river ports, transit facilities, and will have a township area, helipad, power and gas sub-station and disaster management facilities.

Fig: Geographical view of deep sea port Coordinator of the Pacific International, the study team of the deep sea port, said initially container handling capacity of the port will be about 7.41 lakh tonnes which will gradually be increased to 32.52 lakh tonnes by 2055. Drawback It would also threaten mangroves and overall marine resources in an area where hundreds of thousands of community people from the whole of Moheskhali, Kutubdia and even Chittagong depend for their daily livelihood. According to some estimates, 700-800 fishing boats are engaged in fishing in Sonadia's nearshore and offshore waters, depending on the season. Conclusion In Bangladesh after established the deep sea port through opening the mega port for China, north-eastern states of neighboring India and for landlocked countries like Nepal and Bhutan the wheel of the country’s economy can be moved faster. Due to geographical location, the port will be a Regional Hub.