Maritime ports of Bangladesh have been advised to hoist distant cautionary signal no. one as the deep depression over Westcentral Bay and adjoining area moved slightly north-northeastwards and now lies over the same area. At 6 am on Monday, it was centred about 840 kms West-Southwest of Chattogram port, 800 kms West-Southwest of Cox’s Bazar port, 710 kms southwest of Mongla and Payra ports, respectively, said a special Met office bulletin this morning (October 23, 2023). Read: Extreme weather kills 2 million, costs $4 trillion in 50 years: WMO It is likely to move north-northeastwards and intensify further, added the bulletin. Maximum sustained wind speed within 48 kms of the deep depression centre is about 50 kph rising to 60 kph in gusts or squalls. Sea will remain rough near the deep depression centre. Read: New weather forecasting system launched for Bangladeshi farmers Meanwhile, all fishing boats and trawlers over the North Bay and deep sea have been advised to remain closed to the coast and proceed with caution till further notice. They are also advised not to venture into the deep sea, reads the special bulletin.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (October 27, 2022) said no one can chew up forex reserve. “Many may wonder where the forex reserve money went. Money from forex reserve went to Payra Port, procuring food for the people, fertiliser, meeting the daily needs of people… No one can chew up that money. That is (forex reserve) for the people. We are using that for import and other necessary purposes,” she said. Sheikh Hasina said this while inaugurating some development projects, including capital dredging at Payra Port, aiming to equip it with better facilities for smooth operations. Read: What are the 3 reasons behind Bangladesh’s falling forex reserves? The Prime Minister virtually inaugurated the development projects from her official residence Ganabhaban.  Other inaugurated projects included eight ships and vessels, the first terminal, construction of a six-lane approach road and a bridge at Payra Port. The PM said that for the first time, money from Bangladesh Infrastructure Development Fund is being used. It is being used for capital dredging of Payra Port. Read: IMF loan would help economy gain stability in reserves, dollar market: Experts “We have provided loan, with minimum interest rate, to the port. With one percent service charge, they will have to give only two percent interest rate,” she said. The Prime Minister also stressed that the country’s money will remain in Bangladesh. She said that Bangladesh’s forex reserve can be used for infrastructure development. In this connection, she mentioned the hassles Bangladesh has to deal with when taking foreign funds. “Considering that, we have created a fund – Bangladesh Infrastructure Development Fund. We have created this fund using our forex reserve money. Using that fund, we are starting the dredging of Payra Port,” she said. Read Payra Port has so far earned revenues worth over Tk 600cr: PM Hasina Bangladesh’s forex reserves stood at USD 35.98 billion as of October 19, 2022, according to data from Bangladesh Bank. Forex reserves were USD 46.19 billion a year ago (October 19, 2021).

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate some development projects at Payra Seaport on Thursday to equip it with better facilities for smooth operations. The development projects include—capital dredging of the port, inauguration of eight ships and vessels, inauguration of the first terminal and construction of a six-lane approach road and a bridge. The disclosure came at a preparatory meeting of the Payra Seaport Authority in Patuakhali. State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury chaired the meeting. “PM Sheikh Hasina has built the Payra Seaport to develop the long-neglected southern region of Bangladesh. I’m already witnessing a surge in economic activities in this region brought about by this seaport,” Khalid said. Through the capital dredging of the seaport’s Rabnabad channel, a 75km-long, 100-125meter-wide and 10.5meter-deep channel will be created. Once operational, a total of 40,000 tons of cargo or 3000 container-laden ships will be able to dock. The channel will cost an estimated Tk 5,000 crore and will be built by Belgian dredging company--Jan De Nul. Among the eight vessels to be inaugurated on Thursday, two are pilot vessels, two are heavy duty speedboats, one is a buoy laying vessel, one is a survey boat and two are tugboats. These ships and vessels will help the port authority to monitor the arrival and departure of foreign ships and maintain the channel. Read: Maintenance dredging work underway at Payra port Once the construction of the first terminal, the six-lane highway and the bridge is completed, a total of three foreign ships carrying containers or bulk cargos will be able to dock simultaneously at the Payra Seaport. The terminal will cost Tk 4,500 crore and will be opened for operation in December, 2023. The 6.35km-long, six-lane approach road is being built by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD). Spectra Engineers Limited has been given the responsibility of the construction at a cost of Tk 655 crore. The road will also be opened to traffic in December, 2023. A 1,180 meter-long bridge is being built over the Andharmanik river to transport goods of the Payra Seaport. The bridge will cost Tk 780 crore and will be constructed over a period of two and a half years. Muhibur Rahman Muhib, Member of Parliament (MP) from Patuakhali-4 constituency and Rear Admiral M Sohael, Chairman of Payra Port Authority, among others, were present at the meeting. The Prime Minister inaugurated the Payra Seaport on November 19, 2013.

A survey ship of Belgium-based company Jan De Nul working in the Rabnabad channel drowned near Payra port in Patuakhali on Monday. However, 10 Indonesian and two Bangladeshi crew members onboard the ship named Express-54 were immediately rescued by a fishing boat and later they reached the port by a tugboat of the company. The ship drowned seven nautical miles off the fare buoy of the port on Monday morning. Also read: Trawler sinks in Bay: 13 Bhola fishermen go missing Captain ASM Sharifur Rahman, harbor master of the port, said water started gushing through a hole beside the ship's machine room when it was out for survey work for dredging. The crews immediately sought help from a nearby fishing boat and had been safely rescued, he said. He said the process is on to pull out the drowned ship from the water. Also read: 13 stranded fishermen rescued from Bay The rescued are- master Arham Abdul Rahim, chief officer Mochamad Rizal, second officer Darmawan, chief engineer Muhammad Nur, second engineer Trai Yanto, oiler Rahmat Fadilla, AB Audi Cristian, AB Rudi Rahman, oiler Muhammad Agam Fayez Julfa, cook Jujua Anglebert, surveyor Saiduzzaman Imon, and MD Sohanuzzaman Sumon.

Economic Affairs Adviser to the Honorable Prime Minister Dr Mashiur Rahman on Monday said centralisation approach is a constraint for CMSMEs development in Bangladesh and emphasised the importance of regional connectivity towards an inclusive, efficient and balanced development of the country.

Work to maintain a depth of 6.3 meters in the Rabnabad Channel of Payra Port was launched by the Chattogram Port Authority on Saturday.

Saif Powertec Limited, a listed company at stock exchange, has provided protective equipment to the Payra Port Authority for tackling coronavirus.

Khulna Shipyard Limited on Sunday handed over two pilot vessels -- Tentulia-1 and Tentulia-2 -- to Payra Port Authority (PPA).