Five entities cleared to build port facilities at BSMSN

The government has decided on five public and private companies that will build the port facilities at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) in Mirsarai, Chattogram.

Three companies will build the permanent port structures and two others will build the temporary structures, said officials of Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA).

According to officials, the first three are Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), BEZA and India’s Adani Group, and the other two local companies are Bashundhara Group and TK Group.

Confirming the development, BEZA Executive Member (Planning and Development) Mohammad Irfan Sharif told The Business Post that there is a proposal to build several port facilities in the plan of this industrial city, which will be implemented in stages.

Steps are being taken to build these facilities quickly for the convenience of investors, he added.

BSMSN is surrounded by the coast, 67 km away from Chattogram Port and located at the end of the Sandwip Channel. The country’s largest industrial hub has offered investors a multi-modal transport and logistics platform, incorporating port, rail, roads and airport connectivity.

More than 5,000 acres of land have already been allocated for at least 136 factories, with a potential investment of around $20 billion. Four factories have already started production at BSMSN and more factories will go into production within one year. These factories now transport their products mainly through the country’s largest economic corridor, the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway.

TK Group Managing Director Mustafa Haider said that transporting goods by road costs a lot of time and money. As the number of vehicles on this highway is only rising, it would be more beneficial for investors to have goods transported by river.

TK Group is the key investor behind its newly launched subsidiary Samuda Construction Ltd, which will build the temporary port structures at BSMSN along with Bashundhara Group once greenlighted.

Permanent structures

BEZA has already allocated 1,802 acres of land to help reduce congestion, delays and costs while increasing efficiency as well as strengthening the supply chains of the port and logistics hub.

Sources said BIWTA and BEZA have finalised their plans to build the jetty. Work will begin once the necessary formalities are done and funds are received. Adani Group is now checking the feasibility of their proposed port facilities.

BEZA will build a super port structure here that will be able to handle bulk, container and liquid cargoes simultaneously, Sharif said. “Now it’s in the initial stage and will take several more years to build.”

However, BIWTA is ahead in their plans compared to others as they have taken up a Tk 1,913 crore project to connect the four economic zones of Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar using rivers.

Under this project, which is scheduled to be completed by June 2024, a total of four port infrastructures will be built — two in Mirsarai and Sandwip and two at Sabrang and Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar.

Project Director and BIWTA Executive Engineer ASM Ashrafuzzaman said two vessels with a maximum draft of 4.2 metres will be able to berth at the jetty adjacent to BSMSN.

Though the project period started in July 2022, the construction work will start following final approval from the Planning Ministry and the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).

The Adani Group is yet to finalise its plans, but BEZA has agreed to permit them to build and operate a permanent port structure. They have gotten about 1,000 acres of land at BSMSN where they will build industries and a logistics centre with various facilities, BEZA sources said.

Temporary structures

Jetty facilities will be built at the Bangladesh Water Development Board’s (BWDB) site outside the super dike, adjacent to BSMSN. For this, BWDB has allotted land and BEZA has permitted Bashundhara Group and Samuda Contraction to build the temporary port infrastructures with BIWTA’s approval.

BEZA initially cleared these two companies to work on building the permanent port but later cancelled. Recently, they were encouraged to build temporary jetties. Bashundhara has sought to build three jetties and TK Group one.

Irfan Sharif said that the temporary infrastructure will be removed after the construction of the permanent port infrastructure is completed. Construction of the permanent jetty will take a few more years, so investors have been allowed to build temporary structures to facilitate the movement of goods, he added.

However, Mustafa Haider said investing a lot of money in building a jetty for temporary use and then removing it will only lead to financial losses.

A Bashundhara Group official said they would respond after knowing BEZA’s decision on officially building the temporary jetties.