India Offers another $1 billion Credit to Bangladesh

[eastwatch]

Let us get the following concepts right
Infrastructure projects were proposed by BD in addition to the projects that was funded by the initial 1 billion. The infrastructure project need not necessarily be geared towards transit but intra national transport network.

Check the reality. BD has not yet started any projects by using the initial $1 billion credit. The money remains with the private Bank.

 

[eastwatch]

I do not see any India has given any precondition that only India will use those roads, bridges or railways!! Anyone can see any such condition?

You know this than why need BD govt to know? You can live with your self propaganda when no one in BD or India is buying those. So what uses? lol

Yoou must be pretending naive like Awami leaguers. Considering the political ethics in our country, the govt party is always there to take loan, use part of it and then the rest evaporates in the thin air. India is helping AL to grab the maximum portion of credit money that it can use in the coming election. It is very clear. BD does not need any money from a country like India. Neither, we want your fencidile. Both are same to the country.

 

[eastwatch]

You cant run a hospital with out the expertise and management of Indians.

India will be giving full TOT and best treatments to you Bangaldeshis and your loved ones.

If you still cant appreciate this, then you just hate India I guess,

One of my relatives had a heart surgery only in March at Apollo. I did not notice any Indian presence there. I agree there are many more highly efficient doctors in India than we have in Bangladeshi, but it is naive to say any of the hospitals in BD are run by the Indians, at least not at present.

 

[eastwatch]

Economic growth of any country depends on infrastructure. If a road is constructed, it helps not only the country but any user of the road. Indeed, Bangaldesh requires no enemies if India is her friend! One understands your statement. Your cleverer by half statement has not missed my eye!

You must have an isolationist policy. It will make your country grow inwards.

You are right about infrastructure roles, but if the purpose is to build these for Indian transit, then we should avoid it. Moreover, we do not want tied loans by which low quality Indian goods and services will come to BD.

 

[eastwatch]

I presume it was said since there is a surge in medical tourism in India, including trainloads of Bangladeshis thronging Kolkata hospitals.

Medical institutions must be good since the President of the US has commented on it.

US healthcare: Obama talks to curb medical tourism to India
US healthcare: Obama talks to curb medical tourism to India - Hindustan Times

You are right on track about the past visits of our patients to Calcutta and Madras. Things are different now. We have our own world class doctors now. So, there is no flow virtually to India.

 

[eastwatch]

Oh I hold North Bengal very dear to my heart.

There is a deep sea port under construction near Sundarban in West Bengal.

Some people know better than engineers. I thought you to be one such person. But, better know that building a deep sea port needs DEEP WATER. West Bengal or Chittagong port do not have deep water. Only the south-east part of BD near Cox's bazaar has it. NO Indian port is deep sea port as far as I know. All the ships you see in your ports are small to medium ships. These are loaded in Singapore from the big ocean going ships.

 

[Roybot]

Some people know better than engineers. I thought you to be one such person. But, better know that building a deep sea port needs DEEP WATER. West Bengal or Chittagong port do not have deep water. Only the south-east part of BD near Cox's bazaar has it. NO Indian port is deep sea port as far as I know. All the ships you see in your ports are small to medium ships. These are loaded in Singapore from the big ocean going ships.

I believe Abir is talking about the Sagar Island port, which will be a deep sea port and will be able to handle bigger ships.

2. Due to draft restrictions at both the dock systems at Kolkata and Haldia, deep drafted vessels are unable to come with full cargo destined to this port and they have to offload/top up at some other neighbouring port. Kolkata Port is thus losing a lot of its potential sea-borne cargo.

3. To attract such cargo and also for expansion of business of this port keeping in view the expansion of existing industries and setting up of new industries in the hinterland which is expected to generate 15-20 million tons of additional cargo by 2011-12 and around 60 million tons of additional traffic by 2021-22, Kolkata Port Trust is planning to develop port facilities at Sagar Island which islocated at the confluence of the river Hooghly. Sagar Island is located about 150 KM or 80 nautical miles south of Kolkata and 47 KM or 25 nautical miles south of Haldia.

The area between the existing Sagar Lighthouse of Kolkata Port Trust (Lat 21° 39′N Long 88°03′E) and Maragolia (Lat 21°43′N Long 88°02′E) which is falling on the western fringe of Sagar Island, has primarily been found to be suitable for development of port facility. The available draft at this location is around 10 M without dredging. At this location, Panamax vessels will be able to bring a parcel load of about 60,000 MT, handymax vessels 40,000 MT and container vessels up to about 2000 TEUs. The port facility at Sagar will have the potential to handle dry bulk cargo like coking coal, thermal coal, iron ore, etc. and container. Liquid cargo can also be handled at Sagar Island. Tankers up to Suezmax type can be handled there with a parcel load up to about 80,000 MT.

http://www.kolkataporttrust.gov.in/eoi%20sagar%20island%2031%207%2009.pdf

New deepwater port for Sagar Island, Northern India

Minister Pranab Mukherjee said necessary funds would be provided in due course to build the port. Mukherjee’s decision promises to breathe life into trade and industry in the northeastern region, which includes the shipping hubs of Calcutta and Haldia.Both the ports have been going through a difficult phase because of heavy siltation in the Hooghly, choking movement of ships. Calcutta Port Trust (CPT), which oversees port operations at Haldia and Calcutta, had long been proposing to build a port at Sagar to alleviate the problems of shipping trade. Last year, it had initiated the process to set up a port afresh by calling expressions of interest from private developers as the CPT wanted it to be on public-private partnership mode. Around 15 companies had shown interest in the project while seven were keen on it. According to the proposal mooted by the port, 8-10 berths can be built on the island near the mouth of the Hooghly, especially to handle bulk cargoes such as coal, iron ore, fertiliser and pulses. Container handling facility is to be taken up later. The project cost is envisaged to be Rs 3,500 crore. It can handle close to 40-50 lakh tonnes of cargo. However, interested private parties sought two clarifications from the CPT. They wanted a techno-commercial feasibility study to be done. They also wanted a road connecting the port to the mainland to aggregate and evacuate the cargo. A port official said the Sundarban Development Board had already written to the Centre seeking Rs 550 crore to build a 4-km bridge connecting Harwood Point on the island to Lot no. 8 near Kakdweep in the main land. “We can handle Panamax vessel with 60,000 tonnes cargo since 10 metre natural draft is available. The draft can be increased to 12 meter by capital dredging,” he added. In contrast, Haldia’s average draft is 6.5 metre handling 18,000-20,000 tonne ships at best. However, the CPT also needs to find ways to save Haldia port by opening Eden channel facilitating greater ship movement.

http://www.porttechnology.org/news/new_deepwater_port_for_sagar_island_northern_india

 

[LaBong]

Some people know better than engineers. I thought you to be one such person. But, better know that building a deep sea port needs DEEP WATER. West Bengal or Chittagong port do not have deep water. Only the south-east part of BD near Cox's bazaar has it. NO Indian port is deep sea port as far as I know. All the ships you see in your ports are small to medium ships. These are loaded in Singapore from the big ocean going ships.

No the port will be on the sea, some 20 km off the coastline, from where small ships will be used to carry the goods to Calcutta port. Let me find the relevant news article.

 

[LaBong]

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Frontpage | Ahoy! There sails Bengal


Jan. 31: Horror of horrors! An entity based in an adrift Bengal has been accused of “colonising” the high seas to satiate its hunger for business.

The Calcutta Port Trust (CPT) is finding itself at the centre of an unfamiliar controversy after pressing ahead with a plan to widen its reach and prevent Calcutta and Haldia ports from becoming two also-rans when a new port comes up in Orissa in about two months.

Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik is expected to lodge a protest with the Centre this week against permission to the CPT to “encroach” on his state’s coast.

The Orissa government also dropped hints that it would move court, drawing a sharp response from the CPT, which reports to a ministry partly run by the Trinamul Congress, that it was on “a strong legal footing”.

At the root of the controversy is a silt-induced problem dogging the Bengal ports: their draft (the depth of the channels leading to the ports) is low, which means heavy cargo vessels cannot reach too close to the facility. If big vessels come in, they do so after making themselves lighter by offloading a part of the cargo at ports on the way.

When Orissa planned the big port at Dhamra in Bhadrak district, the state was hoping that big vessels would offload the cargo there. Small ships or barges could then have taken the cargo from the new port to Bengal, effectively turning Haldia and Calcutta into feeder ports of Dhamra, a joint venture between Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro.

However, the Centre recently allowed the Calcutta trust to expand its sphere of operations by over 28,000sqkm, some of which Orissa claims falls into its maritime zone.

The CPT is planning to build a “floating” storage facility in the expanded zone in the Bay of Bengal. The floating facility is expected to be able to hold about 1.5 lakh tonnes of bulk cargo like coking and thermal coal. Big ships can then unload the cargo into the floating storage, where the draft will be far deeper than that at the mouth of the two Bengal ports.

Smaller ships can then carry the cargo away to Haldia and Calcutta, bypassing the new Orissa port which can handle ships three times bigger than that the Bengal ports can host now.

“Once the expansion takes place, big ships will be able to unload goods using barges in Orissa waters for being carried to Calcutta. However, the move will jeopardise the future of seven proposed ports, including Dhamra, on the northern side of the state,” said Orissa secretary of commerce and transport Gagan Dhal.

Chief minister Patnaik has decided to take up with Union minister of shipping G.K. Vasan on Wednesday. Before leaving for Delhi today to attend a security meeting called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Naveen said: “It was a matter of concern. I will meet the Union minister of shipping to discuss the issue.”

However, the CPT also has an advocate in Vasan’s ministry in the form of Mukul Roy, the junior minister who is close to Mamata Banerjee.

“Let him (Naveen) come and voice his view. We shall see,” Mukul told The Telegraph this evening. “It is not an ad-hoc decision. The ministry has taken concurrence of the law ministry for extending the limit.”

Orissa chief secretary Bijay Patnaik has written to the Union secretary of shipping, Mohan Das, saying that the revised limits of the CPT “extends to more than 200km south of Haldia into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of 28,646sqkm (and) blocking the cost of north Orissa where seven new ports are being developed.”

Patnaik added that the revised limits would effectively block access to the Dhamra port. “If they refuse to change their plans, we will move the court,” the Orissa chief secretary said.

But CPT chairman M.L Meena said: “I will be very happy if they do so. We are on strong legal footing.”

Terming the Orissa officials’ concerns “illogical and unfounded”, Meena said the CPT would not stop any vessel movement to the Orissa port. These ports can also carry out similar operation in the territorial waters of Calcutta, he added.

 

[eastwatch]

@Abir, thanks for the news article. It is almost clear what the Calcutta Port Trust is planning to do in the deeper sea 20 km away from the shore. I will say it is a marvellous engineering concept, perhaps the 1st of its kind? Someone can educate me about it. I hope it will not remain on the drawing board. Somehow, Calcutta and Orissa will reach a compromise and the project will be constructed.

However, I must say a new Chittagong deep sea port is for every country's benefit. Today, almost all the large ships carry cargo to Singapore port where the the draft is high. The smaller ships then carry the cargoes for Chittagong and Indian east coast ports. Chittagong deep port want to take over part of this function from Singapore, whereby smaller ships are loaded with cargoes from the ocean going ships at the new deep port at Cox's Bazaar. These ships then go and off load their cargoes in Chittagong, Calcutta and Orissa ports.

Even if India successfully builded a deep floating seaport 20 km offshore, I wonder what would be its capacity? Can it take over all the jobs now done in Singapore? If its capacity is low, which I have reasons to believe, then the propsed BD new deep port will have to serve almost all the ports of east India.

 

[nForce]

WE SHOULD ASK for USD 10 billion as down payment, NOT bull^$hit loan. Our banks are loaded with money. If govt need loan then they can always borrow from our domestic banks. Khalas....

hmm thats what you think you should ....Why should you?? credible reasons being???..................

 

[TopCat]

No the port will be on the sea, some 20 km off the coastline, from where small ships will be used to carry the goods to Calcutta port. Let me find the relevant news article.

So you still be needing feeder vessel and two stage loading and unloading. Its OK as far as Calcutta is concerned as India always will need a port in Calcutta. But when it comes to compteting with another port with better infrastructure and one stage loading and unloading then Calcutta will definitely loose the race. Thats why Singapore was so successfull.

 

[Tameem]

It is no wonder that India has increased its offer by another billion dollar so that BD can finance the construction of its infrastructures that India will use to facilititate its east-west transit through BD. What a ploy! We build and then pay back the loan money with interest. In addition of repaying $100 million per year for the next 20 years, poor BD will have also to pay an yearly interest of $20 million. India will be paying less than $50 million for transit whereas road maintenance itself will cost BD more than $100 million per year.

Better no credit to BD. Instead, India should use its own fund to build infrastructure inside BD that will be used as transit routes for Indian goods. This India is making fool of BD and is making the position of AL very untenable in the country. BNP does not say a word aagainst any of India's offers, only because these are regarded by the population as selling out to India. These offers benefit BNP enormously by enlarging its voter base.

"If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it".

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

@Abir, thanks for the news article. It is almost clear what the Calcutta Port Trust is planning to do in the deeper sea 20 km away from the shore. I will say it is a marvellous engineering concept, perhaps the 1st of its kind? Someone can educate me about it. I hope it will not remain on the drawing board. Somehow, Calcutta and Orissa will reach a compromise and the project will be constructed.

However, I must say a new Chittagong deep sea port is for every country's benefit. Today, almost all the large ships carry cargo to Singapore port where the the draft is high. The smaller ships then carry the cargoes for Chittagong and Indian east coast ports. Chittagong deep port want to take over part of this function from Singapore, whereby smaller ships are loaded with cargoes from the ocean going ships at the new deep port at Cox's Bazaar. These ships then go and off load their cargoes in Chittagong, Calcutta and Orissa ports.

Even if India successfully builded a deep floating seaport 20 km offshore, I wonder what would be its capacity? Can it take over all the jobs now done in Singapore? If its capacity is low, which I have reasons to believe, then the propsed BD new deep port will have to serve almost all the ports of east India.

China has been the first to build a container port further deeper into the sea than India by reclaiming the land.

I saw it on National Geographic. I am not aware of the name of the port.

I believe the Container port is much bigger than that in Singapore and I think it was said it was the biggest in the world.

This Chinese port is totally computerised.

It is an engineering marvel.

As far as the port off Haldia is concerned, it will be basically for oil tankers bringing oil for refining at the refineries in Haldia. That is what another newspaper report stated.

 

[eastwatch]

China has been the first to build a container port further deeper into the sea than India by reclaiming the land.

I saw it on National Geographic. I am not aware of the name of the port.

I believe the Container port is much bigger than that in Singapore and I think it was said it was the biggest in the world.

This Chinese port is totally computerised.

It is an engineering marvel.

As far as the port off Haldia is concerned, it will be basically for oil tankers bringing oil for refining at the refineries in Haldia. That is what another newspaper report stated.

Thanks, but the CPT wants to build a floating platform 20 km offshore where large ships can anchor and do loading and unloading. It is quite different concept than the Chinese one you have described. However, I wonder if this floating platform will be stable considering the points below:

1) Daily spring and web tides, Joar and Bhata, difference in sea levels being 5m.

2) Yearly cyclone in the Bob.

The mechanism to anchor the platform to some fixed points will be a great challenge for the design engineers.