A well thought report on absurd foreign policy of present govt.....this govt is delaying the development of a dire needed deep sea port just to please some cuntries.....who till now neither pledged nor have the willingness to help BD make one.....still govt is foot dragging with Chinese proposal of Sonadia port
By Apu Ahmed:
The fate of the country's maiden deep water port at the Bay of Bengal received another twist after a draft of the feasibility study on the Payra port in Patuakhali assessed the construction cost at $20 billion. More than one sixth of the estimated cost would be required for dredging according to the study done by a British firm.
Will the proposed site for a deep water port in Patuakhali be viable when another site with suitable natural draft was already identified in Sonadia Island more than half decade ago? It seems that the government has adopted a dilly dally tactics in selection of site to holdup the construction of a deep water port. Or, it is looking for a way out to find a suitable site within vicinity of Sonadia and an investor having no link with China.
Sonadia Shelved
The present government has almost shelved the proposed deep water port in the Sonadia Island despite the ministry of shipping doing all the hard work to select the site in 2009. The government scuttled the awarding of construction works of the port to China in the last minute during a visit by prime minister Sheikh Hasina in Beijing in June 2014.
Dhaka said it favoured consortium-based investment instead of relying on a single country to build Sonadia deep sea port. Many said India had influenced the decision making process of the deep sea port in Bangladesh as Delhi is worried with the advancement of Beijing in the Bay of Bengal.
India's Worries
Many in India believe that Beijing is building special relationships with India's old foe Pakistan and Sri Lanka and is extending its reach down the Indian Ocean under a strategy called the 'String of Pearls'. 'String of Pearls' describes the manifestation of China's rising geopolitical influence through efforts to increase access to ports and airfields, developing special diplomatic relationships and modernize military forces that extend from the South China Sea through the Strait of Malacca, across the Indian Ocean, and on to the Arabian Gulf. Even the Indian strategic experts suggested that China could be developing a deep-sea feasibility off the cost of Bangladesh at Sonadia. It is a reason for concern for India, and would require deeper diplomatic ties with Dhaka to counter such strategic Chinese moves right in India's backyard.
Payra Port
The idea of proposed Payra Port was conceived in 2013. The government appointed British firm HR Wallingford in January for the feasibility study. India has shown keen interest to construct the Payra port despite they knew too that massive dredging would be needed to maintain required draft for bigger vessels.
The shipping ministry officials said Dhaka had committed to Delhi during the shipping secretary-level meeting last month that construction works of the port could be given to India under a government-to-government deal. Commitment by Dhaka should be seen as a major policy shift in its foreign policy. Dhaka refrained from a government-to-government deal with China on the Sonadia deep sea port. Bit it is near to accept similar deal with India over the construction of the Payra port.
Deep Sea Port Essential
There is a doubt whether India would investment on the Payra port. It has been apprehended that Dhaka is caught in geo-politics while settling the issue of constriction of the deep sea port in the Bay of Bengal.
Shift in policy by Dhaka is only delaying its plan to construct the deep water port which has immense potential to transform the country as a regional hub to serve this region and beyound.
Apart from the interest of the neighboring countries establishment of a deep sea port nowadays seems to be a necessity for Bangladesh itself to back up its high growth of the imports and the exports.
The capacity in existing sea port in Chittagong would not able to handle the additional sea-borne traffics needed to spur the faster economic growth envisaged for becoming a middle income country by the new decade.
Sonadia Most Suitable
The proposed deep-sea port at Sonadia-Moheskhali point will enable Bangladesh to be a major player in the regional trade and act as a gateway to the region because of its geographic location. Sonadia Island was selected out of nine s locations, according to the Japan's Pacific Consultant International which conducted a feasibility study on Sonadia Island.
The consultant has suggested the Sonadia-Moheshkhali point as the best location to set up the deep-sea port in three phases until 2055 at a cost of $ 1.2 billion with the first phase completed by 2016.
The nine-square km Sonadia Island will be constructed in three phases until 2055. Dredging work at the Sonadia point will be environment friendly and the natural surrounding of the island will provide suitable shelter. Sonadia is being considered as the best site for required water level of 14 metres within its three kilometers area that will help ships to maneuver easily.
Besides, deposit of silt at Sonadia is negligible and the site is suitable for further development in both sides.
Moheskhali Island
Another school of thought is getting preference on construction site of the proposed deep water port. Planning Minister ANH Mostafa Kamal last January said the government was mulling construction of the proposed deep sea port at Maheshkhali Island, just 25 km away from Sonadia. He mentioned that a sea port was supposed to be constructed at Matarbari on Moheskhali Island in Cox's Bazar as part of Matarbari Coal Power Plant for carrying coal for the plant and ships with capacity of 80,000 DWT would be able to use the port. Matarbari sea port can be transformed into deep sea port by extending the facilities, he said. The shipping ministry officials knew the matter much before. The ministry officials even suggested the policy makers that exclusive coal lending station could be constructed at the Sonadia deep sea port for maintaining smooth supply of coal to the proposed thermal power plant at Matarbari. But the logical suggestion was ignored, they said.
Japan's Chance Brightened
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has already come forward with nearly US$3.6 billion soft loan for setting up a coal-handling seaport at Matarbari. Under the very Japanese financial support, a 1,200-megawatt capacity coal-fired power plant and a township would also be developed at Matarbari in the Maheshkhali Island.
Now the Japanese, according to the government officials, is suggesting that the coal lending station could be transformed into a deep sea port in future. Japan has preliminary chosen Matarbari and Kutubdia as the potential places for setting up the deep seaports. Bangladesh had planned to build the deep seaport seven years ago in 2006 at Sonadia Island in the Bay.
JICA has been discussing with the Power Division about the deep seaport construction at Matarbari and Kutubdia. The Japanese are in views that a comprehensive development plan for southern Chittagong and Cox's Bazar districts is imminent with the expansion of the Matarbari deep seaport for multiple purposes and development of another deep seaport at Kutubdia Island.
There is no doubt that correspondence between Dhaka and Tokyo increased on the construction of the deep sea port after the Japanse PM Shinzo Abe's visit in Bangladesh during last September. On the other hand, correspondence between Dhaka and Beijing on the same issue has almost stopped.
Wake up..!! u may be right in 2007.. but in 2015.. Myanmar defence budget is very transparent... we have to pass the assembly of union to get this budget... 
