Govt body meets on deep sea-port site in Kutubdia

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

As a high-powered government committee sits in Dhaka today to select a site for a much-needed deep seaport, officials and experts here singled out Moheskhali to be the best among the three options.

Several surveys carried out since 1974 recommended that the Moheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar would be the most suitable site.

The inter-ministerial committee headed by shipping minister Akbar Hossain in its first meeting today will however discuss the eco-technical feasibility of three possible sites—Moheshkhali, Kutubdia and Akram Point —for the proposed deep seaport

The eight-member committee, formed following a directive from the prime minister, includes cabinet secretary and secretaries of the Finance Division, Economic Relations Division, Planning and Shipping, chairman of the Chittagong Port Authority and chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Meanwhile, a recent shipping ministry announcement that the government initially selected Kutubdia as the deep seaport site took experts and port specialists in the port city by surprise.
The ministry on November 28 also assigned a committee to conduct a feasibility test at Kutubdia in next two months.

But experts said that despite having all kinds of suitable infrastructures at Moheshkhali, the government move to set up a deep seaport at Kutubdia would fail to serve the country’s demand properly.

‘It’s not our headache whether the port will be set up at Kutubdia or Moheshkhali. But it should be set up at the most suitable place,’ ML Rahman, who pioneered the concept of deep seaport and placed a proposal before the government in 1974, told New Age in an exclusive interview.

Rahman, former principal officer of Marine Mercantile Department and ex-member (operation) of the Chittagong Port Authority, was surprised by the government decision to set up a port at Kutubdia, while all the surveys and researches conducted so far proved that Moheshkhali is far better than any other places of the country for the proposed port.
If the government sticks to its decision and the port is built at Kutubdia, it would fail to serve the purpose properly, he feared.

Bangladesh government engaged Bangladesh Transport Survey Economic Intelligence Unit in 1974 as consultants to study the possibility of a deep seaport on the coastline of Bangladesh which found that ships up to 60,000 dead weight tonnage (DWT) could be accommodated at Mohershkhali, said Rahman, former commandant of Bangladesh Marine Academy.

The Netherlands Economic Institute (NEI) also examined possible sites of Kutubdia Channel, Sonadia Island. Elephant Point, Saintmartin Island, Mayu River, Kutubdia Point and Passur River in 1976-77, but found none to be suitable for a deep seaport, he added

‘The NEI while considering the above seven sites added Moheshkhal channel in Cox’s Bazar, Patenga point and Middle Island in the Karnaphuli River in Chittagong,’ Rahman told New Age in an exclusive interview. Of all these options, they found only Moheshkhali to be fit.

The NEI study looked into all aspects for setting up a deep seaport, including major costs, onward transport, provisions of port facilities, sheltered water and dredging.

High cost of transport to and from Chittagong, Mongla and other Inland destinations and origins were also considered in the survey, he said.

‘To develop a deep seaport at Moheshkhali with a modest draft of 65 feet is also considered as the cheapest and easiest,” he said.

He also mentioned that the total investment to develop Moheshkhal as a deep seaport initially for 1,50,000 DWT vessels would stand at $159.3 million only, the lowest investment compared to all the sites mentioned earlier.

‘To save the money we may convert Moheshkhali initially as a deep seaport for lighterage only and can save huge foreign exchange now being spent on lighterage in the open sea at Chittagong,’ the expert suggested.

A canal through Thailand and Myanmar joining Gulf of Siam (Thailand) and Bay of Bengal to bypass the Singapore straits is being completed soon and for that the international shipping routes will come closer to Moheshkhali, he said adding that a modern port is being developed near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

‘The Moheshkhali Island has an area of over 125 square miles, geographically situated closer to International Sea Routes than any other suitable place in Bangladesh and has bigger space than Singapore or Hong Kong ports,’ Rahman said.

An international airport is essential near a seaport and if the seaport is built at Moheshkhali, the Cox’s Bazar airport may serve the purpose, he pointed out, adding that it would be impossible to build a separate airport around Kutubdia.
The soil in the Moheshkhal Island is also better than Kutubdia and since the Island is on the sea side, the tidal wave and swells have little impact on its channel, the expert said.

He also said that the tidal effect at Moheshkhali channel is about three knots in contrast to six to seven knots in Karnaphuli river and the dredging spoil could be economically used for reclaiming low areas of the Island.

He also informed that the satellite map recently published by the world meteorological body of the United Nations indicates that sea bed is rising and depth of the water is declining in the Bay of Bengal on the southern part of Bangladesh.

‘We must consider all these perspectives before setting up a deep seaport and my first choice is Moheshkhali channel,’ he said.
Earlier, the government in 2002 decided to set up a deep seaport at Moheshkhali and formed a committee for the feasibility test, but the committee did not start its work.

A top official of the CPA expressed his opinion in favour of Moheshkhali. ‘Moheshkhali is fit considering all aspects of the proposed deep seaport,’ he told New Age.
He said that though the government initially selected Kutubdia for the study, but final decision would be taken after conducting feasibility tests at Kutubdia, Moheshkhali and Akram Point.

News By: & Source : Kutubi Forum