Mohammed Badrul Ahsan :
The government has taken a move to develop three more land ports near BD-India border to facilitate export-import activities with the next-door neighbour and to strengthen connectivity with the regional countries, sources said.
The new ports are likely to be set up at Sheola of Bianibazar, Biloniya in Feni and Gobarakura-Karitoli in Mymensingh. These will connect Mizoram and Tripura on the other side.
These will be developed under the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) initiative to bring dynamism in regional trade.
With the new ones, total number of land customs stations (LCSs) along the border would stand at 17 – only few of those are active on a limited scale at present.
Officials said development of the new LCSs would involve an expenditure of US$ 132 million – the World Bank (WB) to provide $ 120 million and the rest would be met from the national exchequer.
The LCSs will be developed under a project titled “Bangladesh Regional Connectivity Project One” and will connect the north-eastern Indian states and other neighbouring countries, including Nepal and Bhutan.
“The project work is scheduled to start from January next and be completed in five years,” an official of the planning section of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) said.
“It will help gear up our exports and ensure smooth regional connectivity,” Senior Secretary of the MoC Hedayetullah Al Mamoon told The New Nation.
The MoC has already sent the development project pro-forma (DPP) to the Planning Commission (PC) while other related government agencies are expected to send their respective DPPs to the commission soon.
Bangladesh Land Port Authority (BLPA), National Board of Revenue (NBR) and, Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED) are the other agencies related to the project.
“We hope to send our DPP to the PC next week,” said an official of BLPA, which is under the Ministry of Shipping (MoS).
The PC will prepare a final project paper based on the DPPs.
Besides, the BLPA would modernise two existing land ports – Benapol and Bhomra.
Local businessmen say Bangladesh has huge potential to export goods to the north-eastern Indian states due to price competitiveness, but the volume still remains insignificant due to lack of necessary infrastructure on both the sides.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed visited Indian state of Manipur in April last when he said Bangladesh wants to export its quality products to Manipur and adjacent region.
Bangladesh could export furniture, readymade garments, pharmaceuticals, foodstuff and other products as per demand by the north eastern Indian states.
But, the export did not reach the level as expected due to lack of infrastructure and imposition of countervailing duties in some cases.
Countervailing duties (CVDs), also known as anti-subsidy duties, are trade import duties imposed under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules to neutralise the negative effects of subsidies.
“The project will help cut cost of doing business, increase exports and attract investment,” Humayun Rashid, a leader of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) said.
The government has taken a move to develop three more land ports near BD-India border to facilitate export-import activities with the next-door neighbour and to strengthen connectivity with the regional countries, sources said.
The new ports are likely to be set up at Sheola of Bianibazar, Biloniya in Feni and Gobarakura-Karitoli in Mymensingh. These will connect Mizoram and Tripura on the other side.
These will be developed under the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) initiative to bring dynamism in regional trade.
With the new ones, total number of land customs stations (LCSs) along the border would stand at 17 – only few of those are active on a limited scale at present.
Officials said development of the new LCSs would involve an expenditure of US$ 132 million – the World Bank (WB) to provide $ 120 million and the rest would be met from the national exchequer.
The LCSs will be developed under a project titled “Bangladesh Regional Connectivity Project One” and will connect the north-eastern Indian states and other neighbouring countries, including Nepal and Bhutan.
“The project work is scheduled to start from January next and be completed in five years,” an official of the planning section of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) said.
“It will help gear up our exports and ensure smooth regional connectivity,” Senior Secretary of the MoC Hedayetullah Al Mamoon told The New Nation.
The MoC has already sent the development project pro-forma (DPP) to the Planning Commission (PC) while other related government agencies are expected to send their respective DPPs to the commission soon.
Bangladesh Land Port Authority (BLPA), National Board of Revenue (NBR) and, Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED) are the other agencies related to the project.
“We hope to send our DPP to the PC next week,” said an official of BLPA, which is under the Ministry of Shipping (MoS).
The PC will prepare a final project paper based on the DPPs.
Besides, the BLPA would modernise two existing land ports – Benapol and Bhomra.
Local businessmen say Bangladesh has huge potential to export goods to the north-eastern Indian states due to price competitiveness, but the volume still remains insignificant due to lack of necessary infrastructure on both the sides.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed visited Indian state of Manipur in April last when he said Bangladesh wants to export its quality products to Manipur and adjacent region.
Bangladesh could export furniture, readymade garments, pharmaceuticals, foodstuff and other products as per demand by the north eastern Indian states.
But, the export did not reach the level as expected due to lack of infrastructure and imposition of countervailing duties in some cases.
Countervailing duties (CVDs), also known as anti-subsidy duties, are trade import duties imposed under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules to neutralise the negative effects of subsidies.
“The project will help cut cost of doing business, increase exports and attract investment,” Humayun Rashid, a leader of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) said.
