The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has confirmed its funding for developing substructure in the Dhirasram Inland Container Depot (ICD) project.
This would enable the Bangladesh Railway (BR) to place the project under the public private partnership (PPP) category in future.
Sources said the ADB mission in its wrap-up meeting on Monday assured of providing necessary funds to develop substructure in the ICD.
The ADB came forward with the BR's proposal after the project was dropped from the list of PPP projects due to not getting any suitable investor.
But the superstructure of the ICD would be built in future by private investor after its selection under PPP initiative, the sources added.
The BR has taken the Dhirasram ICD project under PPP to shift the present ICD from Kamlapur Railway Station in the capital, as its capacity has been saturated due to increase in transportation of containers.
The state-owned train operator also has urgency to shift the ICD for another project under government-to-government modality with Japan. Under the PPP project, a multimodal transportation hub would be set up in entire Kamlapur station area.
The Dhirasram ICD project was one of the PPP projects - selected by the Japanese ministry concerned during the Japan-Bangladesh third joint platform meeting in 2019.
But it was dropped from the list after the BR found the proposal of a Japanese investor unacceptable under PPP initiative.
Officials said the ICD development project is now being planned to be implemented in two stages.
Its land acquisition would be done with the government fund, and a development project proposal (DPP) to acquire 222 acres of land has been sent to the Planning Commission (PC) for approval.
However, the PC has not yet approved the Tk 34.75-billion project for land acquisition, although the BR sent its DPP in 2020.
The ADB is expected to fund the ICD project in its investment stage, whose preliminary DPP has been approved.
In the next stage, the BR would look for a private investor to build the superstructure as well as operate and maintain the ICD under the PPP initiative, they added.
Sources said a Dubai-based logistic company recently showed interest in the Dhirasram ICD project during a joint platform meeting between the PPP Authority and Dubai.
