Inner bar dredging of Mongla Port begins

670

DHAKA, March 13, 2021 (BSS) – The inner bar dredging of Mongla Port began today aiming at increasing the port’s capacity to ensure smooth arrival of ships with a draft of 9.5 metres to 10 metres at the port jetty.

State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury inaugurated the dredging project “Inner Bar Dredging of Mongla Port Channel” at Jaymonir Ghol in Mongla.

Khulna City Mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleq, Deputy Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Habibun Nahar, Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change Mohammad Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury, Chairman of Mongla Port Authority Rear Admiral Mohammad Musa and Project Director Sheikh Shawkat Ali were present at the inaugural function, among others.

Under the project, 216.09 lakh cubic metres will be dredged at the inner bar at a cost of Taka 794 crore. The project will be completed by June 2022 while Chinese companies Jianshu Haihong Construction Engineering Company Limited (JHCEC) and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) will jointly implement the project.

The excavation of the 19kilometre inner bar from Jaymonir Ghol of Pashur Channel to Port Jetty will solve the navigability crisis of the port, which could be treated alternative to Chattogram Port in terms of capacity.

The total length of the channel from Rampal Thermal Power Station to Fareway Boya is 145km while about 19kilometre from Mongla Port Jetty to Harbaria (Jaymonir Ghol) is marked as inner bar. The current depth of the inner bar channel is less than 5.5 metres, which can handle ships with a draft of 7 metres to 7.5 metres during high tide.

About 19km will be excavated from Port Jetty to Jaymonir Ghol under the project. After implementation of the project, ships with a draft of 9.5 metres to 10 metres will be able to enter the Mongla port jetty directly.

Addressing the inaugural function, Khalid Mahmud said as a part of government’s continuous efforts of procuring handling equipments, infrastructural development and dredging projects for the Mongla Port, the out bar of the port was excavated earlier at cost of Taka 700 crore, which has ensures sooth arrival of ships with a draft of 10 metres at the anchorage area of the port.

“After completing the inner bar excavation, turnaround time of the ships will decrease making the goods transportation cost effective,” he said, adding that the number of ships at the Mongla Port will be increased, which will play a vital role in the development of the south-eastern region of the country as well as in the national economy.