The Ministry of shipping has signed deals to dredge river routes aiming to strengthen the capacity of Chittagong-Dhaka- Ashuganj waterways and to set up terminals to enhance the Volume of shipping corridor with the financial support of the World bank.
Chittagong, Dhaka, and Ashuganj region’s river routes to be strengthened, The Gulf Kobla-Karnaphuli and Dharti-Banga joint venture will work for the development of 13 shipping routes.
The Bangladeshi government has taken up a good initiative force on dredging and has launched a massive scheme to dredge 10,000 kilometers of riverways in the country, This scope of work will improve the inland water navigation system in the country. The dredging work would be done on 178 rivers of Bangladesh, and this will be carried out by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) at a cost of Taka 4371 crore.
Dhaka – Chittagong and – Ashuganj IWT Corridors are the highest priority routes for domestic trade and Bangladesh-India bilateral trade. About 80% of the country’s IWT transport is routed through these corridors and daily about 200,000 passengers use these routes. Inland river terminals (ports) at Dhaka, Narayanganj, Chandpur, and Barisal along these routes play very important roles in transporting and handling passengers and cargo.
The World Bank is funding for this project, to support the dredging of 13 shipping routes.
According to the deal, the contractors will carry out the excavation works to develop and protect 13 river routes costing TK 430 crore. Under this project, 900 kilometers of waterways will be excavated, cyclone shelters will be constructed for vessels in six places, conservation dredging will be done in three ferry crossing zones, four passenger and cargo terminals, 15 landing stations will be established and two multipurpose vessels will be procured.
Shatnal, Charbhairabi, Chandpur, Mehendiganj, Sandwip, and Nalchira are the primarily selected places to build the cyclone centers. Chandpur-Sharaitpur, Lakshmipur-Bhola, Bheduria-Laharhat ferry crossings will be dredged and conserved.
BIWTA will execute the project and the deadline for this project has been planned for December 31st, 2025. The estimated cost of this project is Tk 33.49 billion, of which Tk 30.53 billion will be provided by the World Bank as project assistance and Tk 2.97 billion by the Government of Bangladesh.
Massive dredging projects in recent years has brought back navigability to inland waterways and opened up new routes, Hence this project will definitely strengthen the capacity of Bangladesh’s river channels and it will help to increase the pace of trade and business in the region.
