3 land ports to be upgraded to increase revenue

The government is going to modernise three land ports and customs houses to increase their capacity to collect more revenue as the country is deprived of huge revenue due to a lack of technology and capability.

About 80 per cent of trade with the neighbouring countries takes place through these three ports – Benapole, Bhomra, and Burimari.

The shipping ministry has undertaken a Tk 3,457.15 crore project titled “Accelerating Transport and Trade Connectivity in Eastern South Asia (Access)-Bangladesh Phase (BLPA Component)” to upgrade the ports.

Of the amount, Tk 2,810.7 crore will come from the World Bank while the rest will come from the government exchequer. Bangladesh Land Port Authority will implement the project from July 2023 to June 2027. The project will support digital systems, infrastructure, and more streamlined processes at the Benapole, Bhomra, and Burimari land ports, according to the project proposal.

It will also support the modernisation of the Chattogram customs house, which handles 90 per cent of all import and export trade.

While trade among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal grew six times from 2015 to 2019, the unused potential for regional trade is estimated at 93 per cent for Bangladesh, the project proposal said.

It said the project will help Bangladesh improve regional trade and transport as well as process automation to build resilience to crises like the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian, a member of the Physical Infrastructure Division under the Planning Commission, said the project’s implementation will enhance the infrastructural facilities of the Benapole, Bhomra, and Burimari land ports as well as modernise customs operations by installing the necessary machinery, which will speed up the process of import and export trade.

“The volume of imports and exports will increase, which will speed up the country’s industrialisation and increase revenue income. This will indirectly play a role in poverty alleviation,” he said.

The main component of the project is the acquisition and development of 100 acres of land at the Benapole port, 60 acres at the Bhomra port, and 58 acres at the Burimari port.

The project includes constructing modern chemical storage of 10,000 square metres, a port building of 6,100 square metres, a transhipment shed of 25,760 square metres, and a warehouse of 22,500 square metres at the Benapole port; a transhipment shed of 12,880 square metres and a warehouse of 3,750 square metres at the Bhomra port; and a transhipment shed of 6,440 square metres and a warehouse of 3,000 square metres at the Burimari port.

Besides, pavements, roads, and stackyards of 1,60,750 square metres at Benapole, 2,66,450 square metres at Bhomra, and 96,530 square metres at Burimari will be constructed.

The physical infrastructure and other capacities of the Burimari port need to be enhanced to further boost import-export trade with Bhutan, according to the project proposal.

Mentioning the government’s Eighth Five Year Plan, the proposal said the project is in line with the ninth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to accelerate the industrialisation of the country, build resilient infrastructure, and promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation as well as innovation.