No foreign financing yet for deep sea port
No country has promised any financial assistance for a deep sea port at Moheshkhali in Chittagong, the shipping minister has told parliament. Answering a question from Chittagong MP Jafrul islam Chowdhury on Monday, Shahjahan Khan said the terms and reference have been formulated to appoint a consulting firm to prepare the design and look into other aspects of the project.
In addition, preparations are on to invite bids by the end of this month and the formulation of the Deep Seaport Authority Act is underway, he said.
According to the shipping ministry, the government has taken steps to establish a deep sea port at Sonadia island of Moheshkhali in Chittagong.
There will be five international standard jetties at the port, which will be capable of handling 704.01 million tonnes of containers every year.
The total cost of establishing the port in three phases has been estimated at around Tk 600 billion, but the cost may go up in future.
The first phase of the port is expected to be completed by 2020 with an estimated cost of Tk 130 billion; the second phase will end in 2035 at a cost of Tk 260 billion and the third phase will be completed by 2055 with an expenditure of Tk 325 billion.
The second phase work has been estimated to begin 2035, which will cost around Tk 260 billion.
Source: BDNews