The implementation work of the Mongla Port upgrade project is yet to start though the loan agreement under the third Indian Line of Credit (LoC) was signed eight years ago.
According to the shipping ministry officials, the project was approved by the ECNEC in 2018, but it took almost four years to appoint the consultant.
"Finally, we could end the process of appointing the consultant," a senior official at the ministry, who is aware of the process, told the FE on Wednesday.
He added that the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) is expected to approve the appointment within a couple of days.
The Mongla Port Authority (MPA) had initiated the project worth Tk 60 billion, the governments of Bangladesh and India in 2015 decided to implement it from the fund allocated under the LoC.
In 2019, Bangladesh sent the criteria for appointing the consultant to the Indian side and floated tenders three times since then, but India failed to select a consultant under the said criteria - none was found eligible.
Finally at the request of the Indian side, some terms of the eligibility criteria were excluded, paving the way for selecting an Indo-French joint-venture company.
However, the process also took a long time to complete as the JV quoted TK 1,540 million for the job, much higher from the allocation of around TK 840.5 million in the project pro-forma, officials said.
They added that after a hectic negotiation, the company agreed to do the job at a cost of 820 million.
When the selection was sent to the CCGP, it sent back the proposal asking for clarification whether the eligibility of the consultant company went through the legal vetting or not.
Egis India Consulting Engineers Pvt. Ltd has been selected as the technically qualified bidder for the project management consultant contract of the project.
"Recently, we have replied to the query of the CCGP. We hope the approval will be completed by this week," a senior official of the concerned ministry told the FE.
After receiving the approval, he added, the letter of contract award will be issued, followed by signing of the contract agreement.
The project will add new facilities to make the Mongla Port well-equipped and modern, officials said, adding that they were expecting to float tender for main works by April next year.
To facilitate transportation of the containers to and from the seaport, the installation of rail tracks has been going on under the Khulna- Mongla Rail Line project.
The revenue collection from the port would increase to a big extent once it is upgraded, officials said, adding that the cargo handling capacity of the port will also be enhanced as larger ships can be handled at the jetties.
With the construction of the Padma Bridge and development of the Khulna-Mongla Port rail project, a planned modernised port can be a regional shipping hub with shipping of goods for India, Bhutan and Nepal.
According to MPA officials, around 180 more ships could be handled in addition to the existing capacity while the ship turnaround time would also be reduced.
They said 0.4 million TEUs of containers and 15 million tonnes of goods can be handled alongside around 10,000 vehicle-handling capacity after modernisation.
Besides, revenue collection from the port operation through customs and other sources would increase by more than Tk 30 billion annually.
The main project operations include construction of two container terminals (2x200 metres) and 93,000 square metres of container delivery yards, extension of protected areas (3km) including security system, construction of 22,000 square metres service vessel jetties, procurement of eight vessels, construction of 13 high-rise buildings, construction of 3,500 square metres mechanical workshop, construction of 0.40km rail-crossing overpass at Digraj, widening the existing port road to six lanes and building a multi-storey car yard having a capacity to parking 10,000 cars.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com