A consultancy firm based in the Netherlands, Royal HaskoningDHV, has been appointed to conduct a study on 53 important inland river routes in Bangladesh, in connection with an investment of $500m by the World Bank (WB). The government appointed the consultant firm on Wednesday under the guidelines of the WB at a cost of Tk. 15.47 crore. It has been asked to submit its study report within seven months. “Yes, a WB-funded Netherlands-based consultant firm has been appointed. The WB has, in principle, agreed to invest in the project. The final decision will be taken after getting the study report on Bangladesh’s 53 river routes,” Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) chairman Commodore M Mozammel Huq told The Independent yesterday.
He said the consultant firm would conduct the study on six aspects, including environmental and social impacts and hydrography. “We will fix the priority routes among 53 river routes, not the WB. The BIWTA will simply implement the project under the WB’s guidelines,” Huq said in reply to a query. A good number of structures, including cargo and passenger terminals, may be built with the expected WB investment, he said, adding that the connectivity with India, Bhutan and Nepal would be strengthened when the project is implemented.
Huq said the project is also likely to aid reclamation of farmlands by dumping dredge spoils. Besides, the project would help enhance the navigability of the moribund river routes, he added.
The people would be able to trade through river routes round the year after the project is implemented, the BIWTA chairman said. However, sources in the BIWTA said the WB has showed its interest to invest the money in two phases. It has prioritised investment of USD 250 million on ‘A-class routes’ in the country in the first phase: Dhaka-Chittagong-Ashuganj route, including three ferry routes—Barisal-Chandpur, Bhola-Lakshmipur and Veduria-Laharhat.
The sources also said the WB could also decide to invest in other parts or other river routes in the country, rather than the Dhaka-Chittagong route.
The top economic policymaking body of the government, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), had approved the project for 53 river routes on September 4, 2012, with an outlay of Tk. 1,874 crore, to dredge some 2,500 km of waterways for smooth navigation throughout the year.