Karnaphuli dredging unlikely to end this year Chittagomg Bureau The much talked-about project of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) named ‘Capital dredging and bank protection with jetty facilities in Karnaphuli River is unlikely to be completed this year. As a result, the siltation problem at river Karnaphuli is yet to be solved. CPA sources said, 76 per cent work under the capital dredging project has been completed. The project is very vital for smooth operation of Chittagong port. It is incomplete even after three years. About 78 percent of the project was completed before the appointment of a Malaysian contractor which left it in 2013. Sources said, although over 95 percent work of construction of jetty and bank protection was completed before the work suspension, around 38 percent of the dredging is still incomplete. According to sources, the CPA had undertaken the initiative for dredging the river upstream of the navigational channel of the port installations nearly 22 years back. The CPA had conducted several surveys in the area that depicted a dangerous signal for the navigational channel of the port. The survey found that the silt in the upstream would certainly hamper the operational activities of the Chittagong Port severely. So it has now become inevitable for the CPA to maintain a continuous dredging of the areas to keep the port navigable. Otherwise, the experts observed that the main installations of the port would be affected badly. In this connection, CPA has been trying to approve the project of ‘Capital dredging and bank protection with jetty facilities in Karnaphuli River from Sadarghat jetty to third Karnaphuli Bridge ‘ that had got approval in 2005. The gigantic project of CPA had been approved by the Purchase committee of the Ministry on March 3 in 2011. And the committee selected the Malaysian firm, Malaysia dredging Corporation. Accordingly, the Chittagong Port Authority has given a Notification of Award (NOA) to the Malaysia dredging Corporation of Malaysia for working of the gigantic project. A total of four organizations had submitted their tender proposals for the project on the December 1, 2010. Malaysia dredging Corporation of Malaysia proposed Tk 229.54 crore, Banga Dredging Limited and Rafique Construction of Bangladesh proposed Tk 343.95 crore, China Harbour and Company of China proposed Tk 499.14 crore and Sino-hydro Corp-oration of China proposed Tk 613.93 crore, sources added. So, the authority has preferred the Malaysia Maritime and Dredging Corporation (MMDC) as the lowest bidder.