Narinjara News


Teknaf Land port to be operational soon trade with Burma

Dhaka 1^st April 03:The Bangladesh government is taking necessary measures for building a full-fledged land port at Teknaf on the bank of Naaf river to boost two-way trade with Burma, according to yesterday’s the independent.

The proposed port will be built in Teknaf Township under Cox’sbazar district. Teknaf is the township bordering Bangladesh-Burma in the southeastern corner of the country.

Teknaf is one of the 12 land ports the government has decided to upgrade to meet the need of the hour. The government has already set up a new body styled as ‘ Bangladesh Land Port Authority’ (BLPA), which will supervise the functioning of the land port including the one in Teknaf.

Sharif Atiqur Rahman, chairman of BLPA told BSS over telephone that BLPA had already completed the tender floating process and gave the work order last week for building the infrastructure of Taknaf land port. The concerned company is to hand over the port to BLPA after two years of operation.  The facilities in the land port include a jetty, two sheds, one warehouse and procuring handling equipment, he added.

BLPA chairman hoped that the construction work of Teknaf Land Port will start within a month and likely to be completed by the end of October this year. Export-import trade through this port is expected to be in full swing at the end of the current year. Besides improving physical facilities to cope with potential flow of two-way trade, national Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided to upgrade its customs station at Teknaf Bringing it under the direct supervision by an assistance commissioner. At present Teknaf station is under Cox’sbazar divisional office.

ATM Sarwar Hossain, commissioner of customs (VAT) Chittagong told BSS that the station had been upgraded by office order, but matters relating to providing necessary facilities to it like vehicle, telephone and mobile phone and support staff to make Teknaf in a full fledged land port remained pending.

He said the customs VAT authority had earned about Taka 186.9 million in the first eight months of the current financial year against a target of Taka 117.3 million. The earning on same account for the entire period of fiscal 2001-2002 was Taka 117.9 million.

During the period under study nearly 26 items were imported from Burma. The items are betel-nut, gas lighter, cumin-seed, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, battery, sweet cumin-seed, dry fish, frozen fish, ginger, cigarette paper, cane, bamboo and rice, he added.

Commerce Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has said recently that Bangladeshi businessmen would be benefited if they take advantage of look east policy of the government. He said in a bid to reduce trade imbalance Bangladesh and Burma have decided to go for “ Accounts Trade”.

Meanwhile, shipping Minister Akbar Hossain has directed the Mercantile Marine Department to issue fitness certificated to vessels after proper inspection as prospect of coastal trade with Burma likely to start soon following the coastal Trade agreement signed during the recent visit of prime minister Begum khaleda Zia to Rangoon. #