Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan said here the government has attached topmost priority to Dhaka-Chittagong river route to keep normal the flow of water as the route is vital for boosting the blue economy.
“We have given topmost priority to Dhaka-Chittagong river route to maintain navigability of the rivers as 80 percent internal river transportation are carried out through the route,” he said this on Wednesday while inaugurating a workshop on “Development of international services of river communication on Dhaka-Chittagong router,” as the chief guest at CIRDAP auditorium.
“Around 8.25 million containers will be transported through the Dhaka-Chittagong route by 2035 which is viable for blue economy,” he opined.
“The government has taken up the project of digging rivers to bring back their navigability as transportation of goods and passengers through river routes is cheap and environment friendly,” he also said.
Referring to the government initiative to recharge the navigability of rivers, the minister said, “The government has collected 14 dredgers during its last tenure and initiated to collect 20 more dredgers at a cost of Taka 2048 crore during this tenure.”
BIWTA Acting Chairman Md Moniruzzaman presided over the workshop. Among others, Shipping Secretary Shafiq Alam Mehedi and a senior transport expert of World Bank (WB) were present.
