ECNEC approves 8 projects
STAFF REPORTER
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) yesterday approved eight development projects involving Tk. 6,387 crore, including a project for Developing Infrastructure Facilities for the Operation of the Payra Deep Seaport.
The endorsement came at the 11th ECNEC meeting of the current fiscal year, held at the NEC conference room at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital, with ECNEC chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said of the total outlay of Tk. 6,387 crore, Tk. 4,197 crore will come from the government exchequer, Tk. 2,165 crore from foreign assistance and the remaining Tk. 25 crore from the organisations own funds. Of the eight projects, seven are new, while one is a revised project. The planning secretary and members of the Planning Commission were present at the briefing.
The operational activities of the Payra deep seaport will start by December. For this reason, necessary warehouses, cranes, pilot boats, tugboats, vessels, survey boats, etc. will be collected, and the administrative building for initiating preliminary activities will be built.
The ECNEC approved a project with respect to this, involving Tk. 1,128.43 crore. The Payra deep seaport authority will implement the project by June 2018. Briefing reporters after the meeting, planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said necessary physical infrastructure would be constructed to operate port activities at a limited level. He said the operations of the port would start in full swing in 2023. The costs of cargo handling will be reduced by three times when the Payra port will operate in full swing.
By 2028, a total of 40 million tonnes of coal will be unloaded through this deep seaport. Besides, an LNG plant will be set up here, he said.
Under the project, a 5.60-km-long four-lane road from Rajpara to Payra port would be constructed to establish a link with the national highway.
Apart from land acquisition, construction of warehouses, dredging of Ramnabad and Kaliganj water routes, and procurement of high-speed boats, pilot boats, tugboats, survey vessels and service pontoons are all major activities under the project.
The Payra Deep Seaport, a high-priority project of the government, is situated on the west bank of the Ramnabad channel at Kalapara upazila in Patuakhali district. The channels outer part has a depth of 16 to 21 metres, which would allow high-draft vessels to move easily.
At present, Chittagong Port alone handles 95 per cent of the cargoes, but expansion and development of that port appear to be impossible since residential and industrial infrastructures have been established.
Moreover, the Pashur river is losing its navigability as a result of incessant siltation, which is creating obstructions to vessel movement. So, Payra port has great potential to be another vibrant port of the country in the near future.
The others approved projects are Modernisation of regional office of BSTI in Chittagong and Khulna, involving Tk. 182.33 crore; Development of rural infrastructure in greater Pabna and Bogra districts at a cost of Tk. 468.09 crore; Strengthening sustainable nutrition security through production of quality lentil and oil seeds, at a cost of Tk. 168.47 crore; Construction of residential buildings for officials and employees of the Planning Commission and Planning Division at a cost of Tk. 105.88 crore; Construction of 608 apartments for government officials and employees at Pikepara at Mirpur at a cost of Tk. 458.62 crore; Setting up ship model testing centre at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) at a cost of Tk. 48.84 crore; and a Secondary Education Sector Investment Programme (first revised) worth Tk. 3,826.92 crore.
