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Khulna-Mongla rail line now to open in July; 96% work completed
Khulna-Mongla rail line project, which missed several completion deadlines, is now expected to be opened in July this year, according to project authorities.
“96 percent of the construction of the 64.75-km railway line from Khulna to Mongla was completed in December last year. More progress has been made in the last few months. The work of the entire project is expected to be completed by June this year. In July, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the railway line,” said project director Md Arifuzzaman.
With the opening of the rail line, Mongla, the country's second largest seaport, will be brought under rail connectivity after 73 years of its establishment. It is expected to expedite the economic activities of the Mongla sea port.
Mongla Port was established on December 1, 1950 in Bagerhat district in the southwestern part of the country. The port is located at the confluence of the Pashur River and the Mongla River, 48 kilometers south of Khulna city.
According to project officials, the railway link between Khulna and the Mongla sea port is the need of the hour for transportation of goods.
In order to ensure the ease of doing business, the government embarked on the railway project worth Tk 3,800 crore some seven years ago.
The project work began in November 2016. Initially, the project was scheduled to be completed within May, 2020. Unfortunately, the project has experienced both time and cost overruns.
With the opening of the rail service, trade and commerce with India, Nepal and Bhutan will be expanded. Due to the absence of a railway, there was a problem in transporting large containers of the port so far, said businessmen who use the port.
Also Read: Khulna-Mongla rail link to be operational by December?
The Khulna-Mongla railway project was approved at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on December 21, 2010 but it work started in 2016.
The project is being implemented in three parts. Among them, package-1 rail line construction, package-2 rail bridge over Rupsa River and package-3 telecommunication and signaling system, said project officials.
Under these projects, the length of the railway track, including the main line, is 86.87km. Of these, 64.75km is broad gauge railway. A 5.13-km rail bridge has been constructed on the Rupsha River. Around cent percent of the work on the bridge has already been completed.
In addition, work on 31 small bridges has been completed. Of the 107 culverts, 105 have been completed. Construction of nine VUP's and 26 of the 29 LC gates have been completed, they said.
Mongla Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral Mir Ershad Ali said once the project is implemented, there will be a radical changes in the trade and commerce and communication in the southern district.
“After the establishment of Mongla port, there was no rail connectivity with the port. Now with the opening of Khulna-Mongla railway line, the pressure of transporting goods by road will be reduced. At the same time, the cost and time of transportation of goods will be reduced,” he said.
“Besides, multiple communication system will be established in the port. As a result, trade with India, Nepal and Bhutan will be easier,” he added.
17 banks facing severe liquidity crunch after violating lending limits
Despite Bangladesh Bank’s initiatives to promote good governance in the banking sector, 17 banks have recently violated their loan disbursement limits, and are now embroiled in a severe liquidity crisis.
Having been over-aggressive in providing loans, they are now unable to recover the loans and attract new deposits as desired, according to a latest internal report of the central bank seen by UNB.
The banks should not sanction any new loans until they restore the ratio of their loans to deposits in accordance with limits set by Bangladesh Bank, which regulates the financial sector.
Also Read: Banks' assets will decrease by 40% if international reporting standards followed: FRC Chairman
Conventional banks can provide loans of up to Tk 87 for every Tk 100 in deposits, while Shariah-based banks can give loans of up to Tk 92 against every Tk 100 in deposits, according to the rules of Bangladesh Bank. This is called Advance Deposit Ratio (ADR) or loan-deposit ratio limit in banking terms.
According to the central bank report covering January 1-26 of this year, 17 banks violated the limits set for them on lending order due to lack of discipline. As a result, the concerned banks have been plunged into an extreme liquidity crisis, making it difficult for them to sanction new loans. Some of them are even unable to pay depositors in some cases.
Experts fear that the existing situation has created additional risks for depositors. According to them, irregularities, corruption and ‘ghost loans’ - loans to firms that turn out to be non-existent -are behind the collapse of the banking system’s loan disbursement process.
Also Read: Prime Bank receives $50m from IFC to support trade, forex liquidity needs in Bangladesh
“In the banking sector, there have been allegations of giving large amounts of ghost loans in recent times. If this continues, the sector will be at risk,” said Dr ABM Mirza Azizul Islam, economist and adviser on finance to the last caretaker government.
Mirza Azizul told UNB, "Lending beyond the limit against deposits disrupts the credit system."
Besides, the debt collection situation of the banks is not satisfactory now. In such a situation, if the non-performing loans increase further with additional loans, then there is a danger for the bank and its depositors will suffer, he added.
He suggested the intervention of the central bank in these banks immediately.
Also Read: BB signs deal with 32 banks to accelerate disbursement of green fund
According to the Bangladesh Bank report, the ADR of National Bank Ltd stood at 98.23 while that of AB Bank was 96.64 in its conventional stream and 103.45 in its Shariah stream.
State-owned Basic Bank’s ADR stood at 91.17, One Bank’s was 89, and multinational National Bank of Pakistan’s was 87.52. Widespread irregularities and corruption have already been reported in these banks.
Apart from this, Community Bank's ADR was 88.28, NRB Bank’s at 88.05 and IFIC Bank's ADR was 87.48, the report states.
Shariah-based Exim Bank's ADR stood at 100.28, Standard Bank's at 96.28, Premier Bank's Islamic Window 155.09 and Bangladesh Commerce Bank's Islamic Window's ADR was 133.26.
Read More: Banks’ transaction time from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm for Ramadan
Apart from this, the ADRs of five other Shariah-based banks ranged between 93.01 to 104.54.
A managing director (MD) of a private bank told UNB that the lending limit has undoubtedly been set by Bangladesh Bank based on adequate research and global best practices. No bank should have to cross the limit.
“These violations are creating risk in the banking sector. Depositors in particular will be at greater risk. Already some banks and non-bank financial institutions are not able to return money to depositors,” he said, maintaining anonymity.
The central bank has also extended the period of ADR adjustment five times to allow the banks to bring their lending practices in line with the limits.
Read More: BB disburses Tk 4000 crore as liquidity support to 5 Islami banks
However, many banks could not coordinate this. In such a situation, Bangladesh Bank even increased the required ADR to improve the overall liquidity situation of the banking sector to maintain the pace in credit flow to the private sector.
The executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank, Md Mezbaul Haque, told UNB that although some banks may at times find themselves in violation of the ADR set for them, the central bank would under normal circumstances give them time to get themselves back within the limit.
“But if they stay outside the limit for long, then they must be warned and action would be taken accordingly,” Mezbaul said.
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Sales of halal fragrance, prayer rugs and beads picking up in anticipation of Ramadan
The sale of religious books, halal fragrance ator, prayer rugs, and other items associated with Islam has increased exponentially ahead of Ramadan, on the premises of National Mosque Baitul Mukarram and other mosques in the capital.
Prayer rugs, tasbihs and surma from Turkey, India, Pakistan and Iran are selling at different rates. A Turkish prayer rug is selling for upto Tk 5000, while Indian, Irani and Pakistani products price are similar.
People can buy a jainamaz (prayer rug) at Tk100 to 1000 of domestic and Chinese quality, Tasbih at Tk 50 to Tk500, Ator Tk100 to 8000 based on quality.
However, prices of all the products are higher compared to the previous years. The traders are concerned over price hikes of other goods, which may impact people's purchase of religious products.
Raju Mia, a street vendor of Baitul Mukarram South gate told UNB that the business situation is not good this year so far. On average their sale is around Tk3000 which rose to Tk5000 to 8000 on Friday. His 6-member family depends on this small business, Raju said.
Read: Commerce, Home ministries coordinating govt's tough stance on price gouging ahead of Ramadan
Every Ramadan, Raju makes a handsome profit by selling these products, which helps him to maintain his family smoothly.
The street vendors told this correspondent that usually wholesalers supplied these items as per orders.
The Mitford area of old Dhaka is the wholesale market of Ator while Baitul Mukarram is another hub of Jainamaz, Surma and Tasbih supply, Muntasir said.
Youth Masud Miaji, who arrived at the south gate of Baitul Mukarram told UNB, “I use Ator regularly, not just because the fasting month is coming. There is a thing about fragrance. Actually I don't use the other perfumes available in the market. They contain alcohol. As I always pray, I put on Ator.”
Showing a bottle he just purchased, he said, “I always use this one flavor and brand of Ator. I used to buy it for Tk100. Then it was Tk130 and but now I bought it for Tk170.”
"In fact, the price of everything is increasing. What else would the shopkeepers do?" Masud said, justifying the price hike.
Tupi (skull caps) seller Nazer Uddin said that he has been in this business for 20 years. His shop is at the south gate of Baitul Mukarram Mosque.
Read: Dates, fruits to be more costly during Ramadan due to LC opening crisis
Styles ranging from Jali (netted) to Omani and Pakistani brands are available, ranging in price from Tk50 to Tk500 per piece.
Though the traders could not provide a clear or reliable estimate of the business volume of these products in terms of value, most of them think it is annually not less than Tk100 crore.
As Bangladesh is a Muslim majority country, half the annual sales occur during the month of Ramadan, they said.
Chapainawanganj mango growers worried over rising orchard maintenance cost
As summer approaches, mango trees have already bloomed and worn eye-catching looks with huge flowers, spreading a sweet scent in every corner of Chapainawabganj, known as the country’s mango capital.
Farmers are taking care of the orchards in the hope of a good yield as the weather has been favorable so far this year.
But due to the hike in the prices of various materials used for nurturing orchards, including pesticides, the farmers are struggling to take care of the mango trees.
Visiting different areas of the district, the UNB correspondent found mango trees covered in blossoms. And such a scene is now adorning not only the rural areas but also the city, making farmers hopeful of a bumper yield this year.
Read: Vegetable cultivation on Teesta shoals a boon for Lalmonirhat farmers
Mango farmers said that the weather has been favorable since the beginning of the season. As a result, orchards have been covered with mango blossoms.
Abdur Rakib, a mango grower, said, "I have an orchard of Amrapali in Chapainawabganj Sadar Upazila which consists of 1,000 trees. Although the weather has been favourable so far this year, the maintenance cost of the orchard has increased many folds due."
Commerce, Home ministries coordinating govt's tough stance on price gouging ahead of Ramadan
This year's Ramadan is still a couple of days away, but a segment of traders already appears eager to increase profit margins by raising the prices of different commodities.
The government of Bangladesh however claims to be on to them, and has taken various initiatives to keep the market stable during the holy month.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed officials to increase surveillance across the country so that dishonest businessmen cannot make excessive profits. She particularly instructed the field-level administration to be on alert. The Commerce Ministry has said it will keep an eye on the traders so they cannot destabilize the market by creating any artificial crisis.
Even detectives from the law enforcement agencies under the Home Ministry have been instructed to keep their eyes open so that unscrupulous syndicates do not create an artificial crisis in Ramadan.
Read: Dates, fruits to be more costly during Ramadan due to LC opening crisis
In the past, it was noticed that traders increased the prices of goods several times before the start of market supervision ahead of Ramadan. Just before Ramadan, the demand for items like edible oil, sugar, pulses, chickpeas, spices, and so on increases. Traders take this opportunity and raise the prices of in-demand items. It is no different this time.
“Ramadan is a few days away. Like last year, I have bought sugar, pulses, and chickpeas at a much higher price. Every year the same thing happens. There is also an upswing in the vegetable market,” Wahid Fakir, a resident of Bhatara New Market, told UNB.
The prices of sugar, oil, ginger, onion, and other essential goods have all increased in the last week. Vegetables, fish, and meat prices are also going up. Although there is also no shortage of edible oil in the market, daily essentials are selling at an increased price rate every week.
"This year we are already on alert from before. No one will be spared, if there is an artificial crisis in the market. We, the local administration, including the law enforcement agencies, and consumer rights protection directorate, will continue to monitor the market with mobile courts,” Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi told UNB.
Read: People forced to return home with bags half full due to higher prices of chicken, meat, fish
“As preparation for Ramadan, I have had meetings with businessmen one to two months ago. That's when we asked them to increase imports. In particular, instructions have been given so that the banks open the LCs quickly for the import of food products,” he said.
“The government has taken all kinds of necessary initiatives to keep the prices of goods under control during Ramadan. We have warned the traders about the preparations in advance this year. Controlling commodity prices was a challenging affair at this time of global crisis and rise in dollar rate,” he also said.
“Despite this, dollars have been provided for import of all food products commonly used in Ramadan. Besides, the ministry has requested the NBR to reduce the duty and VAT to reduce the prices of commodities like sugar and edible oil,” said the minister. “In addition, we are taking several other programmes to control the prices of goods during Ramadan. Apart from the family card allocated for 1 crore families, sugar and chickpeas will be sold in truck-sales in Dhaka and divisional cities. NBR has also extended the time for import of rice by three more months."
“Hopefully, the prices of goods will be stable during Ramadan. The government's preparation in this regard is good enough,” added Tipu Munshi.
Read More: Have enough stock, no scope of price hike during Ramadan: Tipu
Asked about the role of law enforcement agencies in keeping the market stable during Ramadan, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said, "The law enforcement agencies have been instructed to prevent the rise in the prices of goods.”
“Detectives have already been instructed to keep an eye so that unscrupulous syndicates do not create any artificial crisis around Ramadan and make the market unstable. Several strict steps have been taken, including conducting mobile courts, to control the prices of consumer goods by suppressing syndicates,” he said.
“Various strategies are being formulated to prevent artificial crises in the market and to take action against those who stockpile goods. Along with the police, the law enforcement agencies and consumer rights department, including RAB, will be active in the field, the intelligence surveillance will also be increased,” he also said.
Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain said, “If there is an abnormal situation in the market, we can enforce the law. Every deputy commissioner has been told about this. They will monitor it very strictly. We will also monitor from here.”
Read More: Make marginal profit in Ramadan, Munshi urges businessmen
Dates, fruits to be more costly during Ramadan due to LC opening crisis
This year, the consumers will have to spend more money than usual in case of purchasing dates and other fruits—two essential items in iftar during Ramadan, due to importers' difficulty in opening letters of credit (LCs) on time.
Price hike is a most common phenomenon ahead of the month of Ramadan in Bangladesh, and this year even more due to the LC opening crisis.
Already, the price of dates has doubled in the wholesale and retail markets and it will be dearer ahead of Ramadan, said some businessmen.
The price of all types of dates has increased in the markets ranging from Tk 40 to Tk 160 per kg while different fruits range from Tk 30 to Tk 100 per kg.
Some traders said the prices of these essential iftar items will increase further during the month of Ramadan as they are facing difficulties in opening LCs which will push up the prices of dates and fruits.
According to the sources at Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the price of dates increased by 20% compared to the last year.
Milton, a shop owner in the Baridhara area, said “The price of dates went dearer in the past month ahead of Ramadan and I was able to purchase a limited amount of dates due to the soaring price of it. Last year, a cartoon, weighing 5 kg dates of Farida variety was being sold at Tk 750 to Tk 800 but now it is available at Tk 1500. Already it goes beyond the capacity of the consumers.”
He also feared that the price of dates would be increased further in the month of Ramadan.
Habibur Rahman, a fruit trader said the price of every fruit has increased.
During a recent visit at Gulshan kitchen market, this UNB correspondent found that one kg apple is being sold at Tk 250-350 which was Tk 180-260 last year and different varieties of orange are being sold at Tk 250-280.
Besides, ajwa variety of dates is being sold at Tk 750-800 which was available at Tk 600-700 last year. Mariam variety of dates is being sold at Tk 800-850 while the premium variety of dates is being sold at Tk 1000-1200 per kg.
According to the statistics of Bangladesh Bank, the import of dates has fallen by almost half compared to the demands of it but during Ramadan the demand for dates is about 50,000 tonnes.
In the past three months, only 22,000 tonnes of dates were imported which is 46% less than the last year. However, the authorities concerned related to import dates have opened LC of 29,000 tonnes dates in January, said sources at Bangladesh Bank.
Sirajul Islam, president of Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Importers Association, said the demand for dates increases three to four times during the month of Ramadan. Besides, there is a demand of 50,000-70,000 dates in the country in a year while 40,000-50,000 is needed in Ramadan alone, he said.
Referring to the opening of LC, Sirajul said “This year the traders faced difficulties in opening LCs in time as they had to open it by paying 100% cash margin while it was 5%. The small traders are the worst sufferers in opening LCs.”
The dates are being imported from the Middle East and Africa and dates were being stocked five-six months before the Ramadan, he added.
He also said that the price of dates may increase 30% in Ramadan due to the dollar crisis and transport cost caused by the fuel price hike.
If the government will take steps in unloading dates in ports on a priority basis, then there will be no instability in the market, said Sirajul.
Contacted, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, said “We’ll take necessary steps so that the consumers can purchase dates, the most essential items in iftar, at a tolerable price.”
He also assured of keeping monitoring the market to prevent volatile price hikes of dates.
Issuing a warning, the minister also said strict action will be taken against those involved in increasing the price of dates after creating an artificial crisis.
ChatGPT ‘passed’ BCS exam, according to Science Bee’s experiment
Since it became publicly accessible in November last year, ChatGPT – an AI chatbot created by OpenAI Company – has dominated the discourse on the internet and social media. Based on the Generative Pre-Trained Transformer 3 or GPT-3 language paradigm, ChatGPT is capable of carrying on a conversation, responding to inquiries, producing stories, poems, and comics, as well as resolving challenging programming issues.
ChatGPT has also participated in and even passed numerous challenging examinations across the globe including the Wharton MBA Exam, the American Medical Licensing Exam, and the Law School Exam, as part of esperiment.
Although the chatbot recently failed the Indian UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) exam, which is the benchmark test for recruitment to higher civil services of the Government of India, Bangladeshi netizens wondered whether ChatGPT would be able to pass the BCS (Bangladesh Civil Service) exam or not.
Science Bee, one of the largest science-based education platforms for youths in the country, has recently revealed on its social media platforms that ChatGPT has “successfully passed” the BCS preliminary exam, scoring 130 out of 200 marks in total.
Read More: Top 5 AI Chatbot Platforms and Trends in 2023
Talking about the experiment with UNB, Science Bee Founder Mobin Sikder and Executive Member Metheela Farzana Melody shared how the team tested the chatbot for BCS exam, following a month of planning and preparation and seven days of frequent testing.
“First of all, we researched how to take the test to get the most realistic results,” Mobin told UNB. “Since ChatGPT is trained on a dataset available till September 2021, we decided to conduct the test on the questions of the latest BCS exam – 44th BCS, held in May 2022.”
“After selecting the exam, we collected the question papers and answers. Since the question paper is allowed to be taken away after the exam, securing it did not require much time. The answer sheet is, however, not published directly. So, we prepared the final answer sheet on our own, after multiple testing from various third-party sources,” team Science Bee explained.
Language barrier emerged as a headache during the experiment as BCS exam is conducted in Bangla language and the chatbot is trained in English. It had to be translated into English in order to keep the exam fair.
Read More: Google's AI Chatbot Bard: All You Need to Know
In the 44th BCS, 1 mark was allotted for each question where the candidate got 1 mark for the correct answer, and 0.5 mark was deducted for each wrong answer. However, candidates had the option to skip or not answer any question; in that case, no marks were added or subtracted. The same mark distribution was provided to ChatGPT and at the beginning, it was informed about the MCQ exam and command through text prompt – and it became ready to take the exam.
However, there were some picture-based questions, according to team Science Bee. Since ChatGPT-3 is not multimodal, it cannot read or understand images; hence it was not possible to input those questions, so those were rejected. Besides, it was not possible to translate some questions related to Bangla language and literature into English as it would change the thematic description.
“The total number of such rejected questions was 22. As these are weaknesses of ChatGPT, invalid questions were treated as unanswered and no negative marking was done,” according to team Science Bee.
The remaining 178 questions were asked to ChatGPT with options, and it answered 142 questions correctly. 24 questions were answered incorrectly and while answering the remaining 12, the chatbot stated that the correct answer option was not found. That means the chatbot got 142 marks for as many correct answers, 12 marks were deducted for providing 24 wrong answers, and no marks were deducted or added for no answer. So, as per the 44th BCS exam questions, ChatGPT passed with a total of 130 marks.
Read More: ChatGPT by Open AI: All you need to know
In the 44th BCS exam, a total of 3,50,716 candidates applied and of them, 2,76,760 candidates participated in the preliminary exam. Only 15,708 candidates passed the preliminary exam, according to reports.
“As there is no specific pass mark for BCS and the cut-off mark is not officially released, we were in touch with several candidates who appeared for the 44th BCS exam. According to the information given by them, the cut-off mark in general cadre was 125±. Since ChatGPT secured 130 marks in our test, it can be said that ChatGPT has successfully passed BCS preliminary exam,” team Science Bee told UNB.
Further explaining the performance of the chatbot, Science Bee said that according to the test, ChatGPT was able to answer the questions quite well. However, it was pretty weak in Bangla language and literature category where it answered only 5 out of 35 questions. On the other hand, it performed well in the categories of science, computer or English language and literature. It took a considerable amount of time to answer most of the questions in the mental skills or math categories correctly.
“Besides, many times there have been incidents like getting stuck in the middle of answering. In that case, we had to take the help of ‘Regenerate Response’ to proceed and move forward,” team Science Bee said.
Read More: AI & Future of Jobs: Will Artificial Intelligence or Robots Take Your Job?
The questions for the exam were collected and translated by Metheela. Overall management of the test was conducted by Science Bee’s Content Production Head Annoy Debnath, and the final report was edited by Mobin and Sadia Binte Chowdhury.
“We did this test as part of an interesting experiment and will conduct further tests with other examinations when ChatGPT-4 will be available. The chatbot is learning consistently and becoming powerful every single day, and through this type of test, we want to convey a message to aspiring learners and students that we need to move one step ahead of ChatGPT with our learnings.”
“That means, we need to stop relying on memorising and copy-paste practices because ChatGPT can do it and will be doing it even better with future versions, and also there are other AI projects in the pipeline such as Google’s Bard. It can be a great assistant and companion to humankind, and it will not replace anyone if we can continue to improve our learning. That is the motto of our research, aligned with our motto and tagline ‘learn like never before’. We want people to understand the importance of learning and be skilled in order to make AI useful,” Mobin and team Science Bee told UNB.
(Details of the test can be found on Science Bee's Facebook page and website.)
Read More: How Can Artificial Intelligence Improve Healthcare?
Newly-built 'Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline' ready for inauguration
The newly built 130-km Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline for carrying diesel or petroleum is ready for inauguration.
According to official sources, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Prime Minister Narendra Modi are scheduled to formally inaugurate the 131.57-km cross-border pipeline through video conferencing on March 18.
Named 'Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline', some 126.57-km of the pipeline lies in Bangladesh while the remaining 5-km was installed in India.
“All the necessary works of the pipeline project were completed and it’s now ready for inauguration,” ABM Azad, chairman of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), told UNB.
The BPC, the state marketing agency of petroleum fuel under the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, has been implementing the project under a 15-year government’s deal with India to annually import 250,000 tonnes to 400,000 tonnes of diesel from the neighbouring country through the cross-border pipeline.
Also Read: India-Bangladesh ‘friendship’ pipeline in Dinajpur to ensure energy security: Nasrul Hamid
The deal signed was on the basis of an unsolicited offer in 2017 following the approval of the Cabinet Economic Affairs Committee on August 23.
Bangladesh annually needs to import 6.6 million MT-7.7 million MT of petroleum to meet its demand.
According to official documents seen by UNB, the whole consignment of petroleum will come through the cross-border pipeline from India's Numaligarh refinery, located in Golaghat in north-eastern Indian state of Assam, while Bangladesh will receive it at Parbatipur petroleum fuel depot in north-western district of Dinajpur.
Official sources said though most part of the proposed pipeline is to be laid in the Bangladesh part, the Indian government has provided about Rs 303 crore as a loan under Indian line of credit (LOC) to build the Bangladesh portion.
Bangladesh will operate the pipeline in its part while India will operate the pipeline in its portion.
Officials said Dhaka had to first sign a 'Sales & Purchase Agreement' (SPA) to receive New Delhi’s financial support as a pre-condition.
The documents show that the 'premium' or transportation cost of the petroleum was fixed at $5.5 per barrel of diesel and the price of petroleum will be fixed on the basis of price on the international oil market.
The officials said when such a deal was signed Bangladesh was spending $4.4 per barrel to import diesel from overseas through vessels.
The documents also reveal that Bangladesh will annually import 250,000 metric tonnes in the first three years, 300,000 mt annually in the 4th to 6th years, 350,000 mt annually in the 7th to 10th years and 400,000 mt annually from the 11th to 15th years.
Currently, Bangladesh has been importing 22,000 MT of diesel per month through railway wagons.
BPC chairman ABM Azad said Bangladesh will benefit from such a pipeline in multiple ways and the deal could be extended for a further period of time.
He said the premium is cheaper compared with import cost from overseas as Bangladesh has to spend $12 per barrel as premium to import diesel.
He said that such petroleum imports from India through cross-border pipelines will help create a stock of petroleum in the northern region to meet the growing demands in that part of the country.
Recently, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid visited the pipeline project and appreciated the officials for completing it ahead of schedule.
He said this pipeline will help increase fuel supply by 29,000 MT in the 16 districts of the country’s northern region.
Once open, Matarbari deep sea port will serve 3 billion people of Bangladesh and the region
Matarbari could become a regional commercial hub after the deep sea port opens. It will be used as a transshipment port. After Chittagong port, Matarbari will also be a lifeline of the economy.
The Matarbari deep sea port will serve about 3 billion people of the region, including Bangladesh. Once fully operational, the port will contribute two to three percent of the country’s GDP, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury told UNB.
The deep sea port is now visible. If work continues at this pace, Matarbari deep sea port could be operational from 2026. Construction of the jetty and container yard will start by July. A large number of feeder vessels will come to this port. Money and time will be saved. It will have a great impact on the economy, said the state minister for shipping.
He said the port is being constructed on 1,031 acres of land at Matarbari Dhalghat area of Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar. With the construction of the deep sea port, container ships with a capacity of 8,200 TEU will be able to anchor there.
Read more: Operation of Matarbari deep sea port to start in 2026: state minister
At present, it takes 45 days to send a consignment of goods from Bangladesh to the United States. Once Matarbari deep sea port is opened, it will reach the designated destination directly in just 23 days, the state minister said. Bangladeshi consignments will no longer have to wait at the ports of Singapore, Colombo and Malaysia.
According to the Chittagong Port Authority, commercial activities at Matarbari deep sea port are expected to start in full swing in 2026. But already over the last two years, 112 cargo ships have arrived at the port. Tk 6.84 crore has been collected from these ships. All equipment for power plant has come through Matarbari port. Due to the depth, any large commercial ship will be able to anchor at this port and there are all kinds of facilities for loading and unloading.
Matarbari is 34 nautical miles from Chittagong port. It takes two-three hours to reach by ship. Its distance by road is about 112 km. A 27 km road is being constructed from Chakaria in Cox’s Bazar to Matarbari Dhalghat. Meanwhile, land acquisition for the construction of roads and port has been completed.
The channel built for the port is 250 meters wide, 18.5 meters deep and 14.3 meters long.
Read More: Ambassador Lee visits Matarbari Coal-powered Plant to observe South Korean company’s construction work
The detailed design of the project has been completed. Besides, contractors are being appointed for the construction of the jetty, collection of ship handling equipment and the purchase of tug boats.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will formally inaugurate the construction work of the project in the middle of this year.
Chittagong Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral M Shahjahan told UNB that Matarbari’s distance from Chattogram by sea is 34 nautical miles, from Payra port it’s 190 nautical miles, and from Mongla port it’s 240 nautical miles. Therefore, goods from the mother vessel (large container ship) in Matarbari can be transported to other ports by road and sea in a short time.
He also said at present, ships with a draft of only 9.5 metres can berth in the jetties of Chittagong port. However, recently a ship with 10-metre draft has been berthed there. But these ships can carry 800 to a maximum of 2400 TEU containers. A mother vessel has a capacity of 8,000 to 10,000 TEU. Once Matarbari deep sea port opens, container ships with a capacity of over 8,000 TEU will be able to anchor.
Read More: Operation of Matarbari deep sea port to start in 2026: state minister
The state minister for shipping said the Matarbari Port Development Project has been taken up at an estimated cost of Tk 17,777.20 crore to set up the country’s first and only deep sea port. The duration of this project is till December 31, 2026. After the approval of the project, the implementation process was started.
He also said the construction of the 14.30 km long approach channel with a length of 350 metres and a depth of 16 metres has been completed for the construction of the deep sea port. Besides, the construction of 2,150 metre long breakwater on the north side of the approach channel and 670-metre-long breakwater on the southern side has been completed. At present, tenders have been invited in three packages for the construction of a 460 metre long container jetty and a 300 metre long multipurpose jetty and construction of all port facilities, including container yards.
According to project sources, Matarbari port road is being constructed in three phases. A 27 km road from Matarbari to Fasiakhali in Chakaria will be constructed and it will be connected to the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar four-lane highway. The construction period of the road has been fixed from January 2020 to December 2026. If this road is completed, goods can be transported to any place in the country by road.
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Little headway in restoring Old Buriganga channel
The restoration work of old Buriganga channel near Kamrangirchar has not seen any significant progress in the last eight months.
The Dhaka South City Corporation began the project in June, 2022 but the initial works are yet to be completed. The project includes demarcation activities, eviction drives, re-excavation and waste disposal.
The old channel, which has lost its glory to pollution and encroachment, is located in the middle of Shahidnagar-Hazari bagh embankment (from the main Buriganga River) of Old Dhaka and Kamrangirchar.
Various structures were built occupying the two sides of the area of about 7 kilometers.However, to give the old Buriganga back its glory, the DSCC took an initiative to reclaim the channel from encroachers in June last year. Almost a year has elapsed but the authorities are still working on the initial phase.
Also read: Re-excavation of Buriganga old channel to start in February, says Taposh
Talking to UNB, some DSCC officials said they are committed to recover the channel from illegal occupiers.
The DSCC authorities have taken a project to restore the old channel of the Buriganga, also known as the capital’s lifeline, in three phases, costing almost Tk 22 crore, they said.
They said the recovery of the channel will free Dhaka’s Hazaribagh, Lalbagh, Dhanmondi, and Kamrangirchar from waterlogging.
The seven-kilometer-long channel will also make it easier for Dhaka residents to commute from Buriganga to the Turag River and the transportation of goods will be easy due to the reduction in cost.
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According to the DSCC, walkways and separate cycle lanes will be built on both sides of the channel.
During an election rally at Kamrangirchar on December 24, 2018, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pledged to take steps to recover the old Buriganga channel from encroachers. She also instructed the mayor to take necessary measures to make it happen.
After detailed planning, the DSCC took the project to free the channel from encroachers.According to the plan, a 14-km walkway and a cycle lane will be constructed on both sides of the channel. Bridges will be built to attract tourists in addition to the residents of the capital.
As part of the first phase, which is already underway, the authorities are working to clear the channel of silt, debris, and garbage from the sluice gate at the end of the old Buriganga to Islambag. The excavation cost of 1200 meters has been estimated at Tk 6.41.
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General Secretary of the Poribesh Bachao Andolan, Engineer Abdus Sobhan said,“The commitment (to restore the channel) is not enough. The old Buriganga channel should be excavated according to Cadastral Survey (CS) records.”
He also called on the authorities to stop the supply of electricity, water, and gas to the factories and houses built by occupying and filling the old channel and take effective steps to stop encroachment and pollution.
“We demand the establishment of permanent pillars by demarcating the boundaries of the old channel of Buriganga according to CS records,” he told UNB.Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh said the old Buriganga channel recovery project is ongoing despite the various obstacles posed by the encroachers.
“There were many obstacles. Many cases have also been filed. Many case are pending with the High Court and are currently going ahead with the project.”
He also said the authorities are committed to recovering the old Buriganga channel as per the project.
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Terming the restoration process expensive and difficult, the DSCC mayor said, “The old Buriganga channel has been narrowed down by encroachers and polluters from all sides over the past 50 years, and this is the first time we have undertaken any project to recover the old Buriganga.
“And we have already been able to increase its width almost ten times, and our activities are ongoing,” he added.
He said the plan to introduce modern facilities such as walkways, cycle lanes and bridge will attract tourists.
“We are working to create a healthy and aesthetic environment here so that tourists can come and enjoy their time here,” Taposh said.
According to the DSCC, the initial phase of the project was started with its own financing. The authorities have also hired consultants to support the project.
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Md Md. Rasel Sabrin, DSCC chief estate officer, told UNB that buildings and institutions that have been illegally constructed occupying the old Buriganga channel have already been identified by DhakaSouth City Corporation, Rajuk, National River Conservation Commission, the Public Works Department, BIWTA, the District Administration, and the Land Record and Survey Department.
“The mayor has directed us to demolish the illegal extended part of those buildings identified,” he added.