DRONA BANDYOPADHYAY
Bangladesh is a major littoral state in South and South-East Asian region of the world. The country has a coastline of 720 kms or 447 miles which is inarguably an extensive length to develop a strong blue-water economy. Due to this long coastline Bangladesh has some effectivel and advantageous natural harbours to be used as ports. At present there are three major sea-ports which are Chittagong, Mongla and Payra. The Matarbari anchorage is a deep sea-port and it is under construction with Japanese funding.
In this paper I will throw light on the Mongla port only. Mongla is the second largest and oldest sea-port of Bangladesh and it is located about 48 kms away from Khulna, the third largest urban centre. This port was founded in 1954 at the confluence of of two rivers, namely, Pasur and Mongla in Bagerhat district of southern Bangladesh. In particularity this port is located at the east bank of the Pasur river. Before the foundation of Mongla port, a commercial harbourage was established at Chalna, 18 kms upstream of Mongla in 1950 to facilitate the export of raw jute. Four years later, due to greater depth and draught the harbourage was shifted to Mongla. The Mongla port is located approximately 131 kms upstream of the Bay of Bengal. Though the official nomenclature was changed from ‘Chalna Port’ to ‘Mongla Port’ in 1987.
The Government of Bangladesh has taken some remarkable developmental initiatives to transform the Mongla port as one of the busy ports of Indian sub-continent. Here it can be referred that for last four decades Mongla port has not undergone any significant upliftment and upgradation and remained more or less dormant. In recent times the Govt. of Bangladesh through Mongla Port Authority has undertaken the modernization of jetties, dredging of riverine channel of Pasur and installation of high-end machineries to upgrade the port. The Authority is expecting that the proper implementation of all the development endeavours will make Mongla port as one of the major ports of the region. The Port Authority has designed the present modernization plan in such an envisionment to place Mongla as a serious competitor of Kolkata and Paradip ports of eastern India. Though it is a big dream but realization of it will not be very challenging as there are favourable geographical location and prospective hinterland comprising south-western and northern Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Kosi-Seemanchal region of Bihar, northern districts of West Bengal and Sikkim.
The Port Authority is looking forward to increase the capacity of Mongla by significant volume within 2024.
The inauguration of Padma Multipurpose Bridge has lessened the travelling distance between Dhaka and Mongla by 170 kms. Now the distance between Dhaka and Chittagong port is greater than that between Dhaka and Mongla. Hence the economic importance of Mongla port has increased manifold.
In coming years the Mongla port will emerge as equally a major one vis-à-vis Chittagong port.
Another notable feature of Mongla port will be its railway connectivity. The construction of Khulna-Mongla railway is nearly complete. The Port Authority is eagerly anticipating the execution of Khulna-Mongla rail connection within 2023. Once Mongla port becomes part of national and international railway network it will be easier for Kosi-Seemanchal of Bihar, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and adjoining areas like Siliguri-Jalpaiguri to utilize the anchorage of it in a finer and fitter way. It can be mentioned here that Khulna-Mongla rail Project is being implemented under the Indian Line of Credit to Bangladesh.
The dredging work in inner bar and outer bar of Pasur channel is continuing. In can be mentioned here that the inner bar extends from the Mongla port to Joymonirghol while the outer bar stretches from Mongla port to the mouth of Bay of Bengal.After the completion of inner bar dredging work the cargo vessels, having more than nine metres in height, can use the jetties. A total amount of 793 crores of BD Taka has been allocated for this critical effort of channel dredging. The concerned authorities are expecting that within 2023 the entire work be completed, and it will enhance the cargo handling capacities of the port. Apart from it, capital dredging of the outer bar of the Pasur channel is also undergoing. The Pasur will be dredged at a depth of 8.5 metres to ensure the smooth sailing of large ships. The project is being implemented at the cost of 166.50 BD Taka. The Chinese Joint Venture of CCECC (China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation) and JHCEC (Jianshu Haihong Construction Engineering Company Limited) is executing the dredging project.
Under the same project capital dredging will be done from the jetty number 9 of Mongla port up to 13 kms upstream to deepen the water course for better navigability to ensure uninterrupted coal supply for the upcoming Rampal thermal power plant based on coal resources. It is also the foremost responsibility of the Bangladesh Government, in accordance with the 2013 Indo-Bangladesh agreement for setting up of Rampal power plant in Bagherhat district, to conduct dredging of the Pasur channel for the transportation of raw materials and equipments required for the installation of thermal power plant at Rampal and seamless supply of coal to the power station for the consistent production of electricity. The Dredging Corporation of India, a state-owned enterprise in India, is executing the Pasur channel for this purpose.
According to Mongla Port Authority the Govt of Bangladesh has spent 1,372.8 crores of BD Taka from 2009 to 2020 to implement 15 projects. In line with Vision-2024 nine more projects are under implementation. Among these projects some crucial ones are purchasing of necessary machinery and equipments for cargo handling and management and six feeder vessels for assisting the sea going ships.
The modernization and development of Mongla sea port will bring tremendous economic oppurtunities for the overall economy of Bangladesh. It will create immense job oppurtunities for the local populace and provide significant revenue earnings to the national exchequer. The upgraded Mongla port will also encourage export oriented industrialization in southern part of Bangladesh. The Mongla Export Processing Zone will also witness more domestic and foreign investments which will transform Mongla as a productivity and connectivity hub.