Tug of war over Matarbari port

  • Serarjul Islam Siraj, Special Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Photo: Barta24.com

Photo: Barta24.com

The tug of war was going on for a long time, pulling towards everyone. But now it is known that pushing is going on, one side is pushing the other side. According to responsible sources, this is exactly what is going on with the Matarbari deep sea port. This push is going on between Coal Power Generation Company and Chattogram Port Authority.

The formal handover process of the seaport has been pending for several months, despite the agreement on paper under pressure. Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) is not responding despite repeated letters. As a result, there is no transfer. Responsible sources of the Power division of the Ministry of Power and Energy said this.

বিজ্ঞাপন

According to sources, a proposal was made earlier to make a channel for the Matarbari coal-based power project to facilitate the movement of coal-carrying lighter age ships. At that time, there was a tug of war between India and China over Sonadia deep sea port. The Prime Minister's Office was asked to propose the construction of a deep sea port against the proposal of the Coal Power Generation Company. In view of that, the navigability was increased to 18.5 meters.

Coal Power Generation Company completed the construction of channel and jetty as usual. It was informally inaugurated on 29 December 2020. The first deep sea port in Bangladesh started with the coal-carrying ship of Matarbari Power Plant. On November 16, 2022, a meeting was held for the transfer of Matarbari channel and dividend distribution under the chairmanship of the Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office. In that meeting, it was decided to transfer by June last year (2023).

On paper, Matarbari Channel was handed over to Chattogram Port Authority on September 20, 2023. The Chattogram Port Authority did not accept the charge even though it was understood on paper. But CPA is taking the charge of using the port right.

At the time of acceptance on paper, it was said that the charge would be accepted after verifying the validity. A letter was sent to CPA on 22 January 2024 seeking a representative for the inspection. Even after a few weeks, CPA has not responded to that letter or sent a representative. On February 14, the demand letter was again issued by the Power Division. Still, there was no response from CPA.

The letter of the Power Division also said that the responsibility of the EPC contractor will end after the completion of the joint survey as per the contract. Later the EPC contractor will have to pay demurrage if asked for dredging or other works. It will waste a lot of money of the state and if proper maintenance is not done, the navigability will decrease due to sedimentation again.

A letter is issued to send a representative and take necessary measures to convey the proximity of the CPA for management and maintenance. The letter signed by the Joint Secretary Tahmina Begum was sent to the Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Shipping. Still there was no solution. Even though it has been a long time, the process of transfer of charges is hanging due to the negligence of the port authorities.

And this has become a burden on the Coal Power Generation Company. They have to be guarded by 20-30 security personnel. Again due to lack of regular maintenance, it is feared that silting will create a crisis. Dredging has already been done by spending several crores of money.

Chattogram Port Authority Secretary Md. Omar Farooq, when called, avoided saying that he was in a meeting.