Posted on May 27, 2019
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) is going to procure 55 dredgers, aiming to increase navigability of the country’s rivers and ensure smooth waterway communication.
According to an official document obtained by the news agency, these dredgers will be procured under two BIWTA projects — “Procurement of 20 dredgers and Ancillary Machineries” and “Procurement of 35 dredgers and Ancillary Equipment and Accessories”.
Ten dredgers under the first project will be added to the BIWTA fleet within a short time.
The government undertook the project in 2015 to procure 20 dredgers and necessary equipment at a cost of Tk 2,048 crore. It will enable BIWTA to dredge 232.5 lakh cubic metres annually to ensure smooth waterway communication.
The decision came in response to the “Feasibility Study of Capital Dredging and Sustainable River Management in Bangladesh (FSCD & SRMB)”. The study suggested collection of 216 cutter suction dredgers for dredging some 23 big and medium rivers.
BIWTA under the shipping ministry is implementing the project, to be completed in December this year. Currently, BIWTA has 35 types of dredgers including four amphibian ones.
Under the “Procurement of 35 dredgers and Ancillary Equipment and Accessories” project, some 161 vessels will also be added to the BIWTA fleet.
The project area will cover Dhaka, Narayanganj, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Madaripur, Barishal, Bagerhat, Gaibandha, Cox’s Bazar, Chandpur, Kishoreganj, Jamalpur and Sylhet districts.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) in October last year approved the project to procure 35 dredgers at a cost of Tk 4,489.03 crore to maintain navigability of 100 major rivers.
BIWTA will implement the project by June 2023. The government is funding the project with its own fund.
According to the shipping ministry, at least 1,655.10 lakh cubic metres of river routes are required to be dredged annually, while the country’s overall dredging capacity is 846.50 lakh cubic metres.
Once the project is implemented, it will be possible to meet around 70.81 percent of the annual dredging requirement. It would keep ferries, launches, cargo and other river vessels functional on domestic river routes round the year.
The dredging capacity of BIWTA after procuring these dredgers and other water vessels will be increased by 325.60 lakh cubic metres per annum.
Besides, BIWTA is establishing seven dredging unit offices to make the process more dynamic. These places are — Shimulia, Barishal, Madaripur, Rampal (Khulna), Aricha, Jamalpur and Chandpur.
Source: thedailystar.net
