Narinjara news

Bangladesh Keens to Establish Seaport at Teknaf for Trade with Burma

Dhaka, 7 September 02: Bangladesh government plans to establish a seaport at Teknaf, opposite Maungdaw, in Cox’sbazar district mainly for export- import business with Burma, according to yesterday’s daily star.

The Bangladesh hopes that the port will also be used for trade with Thailand and other South East Asian countries later on. It will help expedite transport of goods on the proposed Asian Highway through Burma.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) is now carrying out a feasibility study and is likely to submit the report in a month. The final decision will be taken upon receipt of the report, the Bangladesh shipping minister said.

CPA will implement the project includes a berthing facilities for at least three ocean-going ships. The Bangladesh government will tap into only local resources and will neither float international tenders nor appoint foreign consultants to set up the ports, sources said.

Contacted, shipping secretary of Bangladesh told the daily star that the initial decision was to establish a river port Tekanaf.

Later, the government decided on establishing a medium-range seaport for the ships with seven to eight meters draft. “But it’s not an alternative to the Chittagong seaports,” the secretary said.

According to sources, the main obstacle for a seaport to be established on the bank of the Naff River is less depth of water than needed. There are around five meters in depth of water, whereas at lease ten meters are required. The Bangladesh government has to go for dredging to set up the port, source said.

Earlier, the government established a land port at Teknaf to facilitate trade with Burma. #