Bay Terminal project now to be funded by World Bank as Chittagong Port Authority stepped back from Indian LOC due to delay in implementation

[Black_cats]

Bay Terminal project now to be funded by World Bank

ECONOMY
Saifuddin Saif

15 July, 2021, 11:05 am
Last modified: 15 July, 2021, 11:10 am

Bangladeshi authorities say Indian credits come with multiple strings attached that delay implementation

Photo- Courtesy

The Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) has decided to step back from the Bay Terminal construction with the Indian Line of Credit (LoC III) tagged by tough credit terms, said a top CPA official.

Requesting anonymity, the official said the CPA is now in talks with the World Bank (WB) about funding for the project.

The international lender has primarily agreed to provide $350 million for breakwater construction and channel dredging for the Bay Terminal.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh continues negotiations seeking more funds for the main project.

Sultan Abdul Hamid, additional secretary (Development) at the Ministry of Shipping, said, "Negotiations are underway. We will be able to mention the size of World Bank funding after the final discussion."

In November 2018, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Bay Terminal project. But project implementation is yet to begin owing to a number of issues, including final feasibility study and funding.

Under the project, three terminals will be constructed at Halishahar in Chattogram, with the CPA building and operating one of them. The authorities now aim to begin construction next year and complete it by 2026.

Apart from funding by development partners, the government and the CPA will invest in the project. According to estimates by the World Bank, the CPA's spending would be $1,150 million.

In 2017, Dhaka signed the third tranche of the LoC with Delhi, and $400 million credit was laid down for the Bay Terminal project.

"But the credit terms are tough," said a CPA high official. "The LoC terms stipulate bringing in construction materials from India. Besides, projects with Indian credit must appoint Indian consultants and contractors, and implementations require the approval of the Indian authorities."

The official said, "These delay implementation. Already completed and ongoing work with Indian loans suggest that Indian contractors completely control construction." The World Bank or the Asian Development Bank (ADB) loans, in contrast, do not come with such strings attached.

The CPA said it has notified the Prime Minister's Office and the Economic Relations Division (ERD) about its decision over not using the Indian LoC in the project.

Professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said Bangladesh should opt for the loans that are more favourable to it.

"Before availing the loan, credit terms such as interest rate, grace period and contractor appointment have to be discussed to reach a decision. If the terms have already been talked about, we should inform India about our preferences," he told The Business Standard.

The railway authorities will implement another project to connect the three terminals by railroads for container transportation. Besides, another separate project will be taken up for road transport to those terminals.

Of the three terminals, DP World, UAE and PSA Singapore will build and operate the remaining two on public private partnership, and Public Private Partnership Authority Bangladesh has already signed MoUs with them.

Previously, India's Adani Group, Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Gateway Terminal and South Korea's Oceans and Fisheries Ministry showed interest in the Bay Terminal construction.

Each of the terminals will have six jetties, which will be able to host ships with at least a capacity of 5,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit).

Around 35 ships will be able to anchor at Chattogram at a time as the Bay Terminal will enable the country to handle an additional 50 lakh containers a year. The vessels will not have to wait for high tides to move around.

In the 2010 primary estimation, construction cost was at $2.1 billion, but it is likely to go up now.

Bay Terminal project now to be funded by World Bank

Bangladeshi authorities say Indian credits come with multiple strings attached that delay implementation

www.google.com

 

[mb444]

All this crap about debt trap by china is born out of frustration by indians who neither have the money nor intelligence to implement.

BD needs to engage everyone else first before doing so with indians.

 

[bluesky]

Under the project, three terminals will be constructed at Halishahar in Chattogram, with the CPA building and operating one of them. The authorities now aim to begin construction next year and complete it by 2026.

Halishahar is located in between Customs House and Chittagong Steel Mills. It means the govt is planning to locate the terminals at the bank of the river Karnaphuli.

I propose the new terminals be located a few kms away from the Patenga beach in the sea where ships regularly anchor and wait for entry permission at the onset of two high tides (জোয়ার) every 24 hr and 50 minutes that raises the Karnaphuli water level.

Select a site there in the deeper part of the sea, build new terminals, and connect it with temporary bridges (mostly by hammering H-piles) from Patenga to be replaced with a new permanent bridge at a later time.

 

[Bilal9]

All this crap about debt trap by china is born out of frustration by indians who neither have the money nor intelligence to implement.

BD needs to engage everyone else first before doing so with indians.

Why engage with Indians at all. Like you said they neither have the money nor the smarts.

We have all been to India, we have seen how India runs, which (it seems at times) is worse that in Bangladesh.

They have severe issues with on-time disbursal of funds....number one factor.

Doing business with Sanghi dhokeybaaj Banyas is a waste of time for us...

Halishahar is located in between Customs House and Chittagong Steel Mills. It means the govt is planning to locate the terminals at the bank of the river Karnaphuli.

I propose the new terminals be located a few kms away from the Patenga beach in the sea where ships regularly anchor and wait for entry permission at the onset of two high tides (জোয়ার) every 24 hr and 50 minutes that raises the Karnaphuli water level.

Select a site there in the deeper part of the sea, build new terminals, and connect it with temporary bridges (mostly by hammering H-piles) from Patenga to be replaced with a new permanent bridge at a later time.

Excellent Idea @bluesky bhai.

I have been pushing this floating terminal idea forever, but I guess cost is a major drawback...

 

[bluesky]

Excellent Idea @bluesky bhai.

I have been pushing this floating terminal idea forever, but I guess cost is a major drawback...

My proposal is to construct artificial island(s) over which to construct new Port Terminals in a place where the depth of the sea is such that the ships can anchor without waiting for the neap tides (জোয়ার) to arrive that can be expected if Halishahar is selected for the new Terminals.

The 14th century traveler Ibn Batuta would commit suicide if he finds BD authorities' unchanged static mindset even after seven centuries when BD selects Halishahar for the expansion of the port.

 

[DalalErMaNodi]

Cease all dealings with Indian engineering firms, contractors and creditors.

They have no work ethic.. corrupt and wholly inept.


No project where Indians were involved in the history of Bangladesh has ever finished on time.



They've been swept aside from this project, I say good riddance, now onwards and upwards, re-tender other projects and sideline Indian companies.

 

[X-ray Papa]

We should use the loan and hire bollywood actor and actress in bangla movies.
That way we promote bangla culture to the world, just like how Rani Hasina imagines

 

[mmr]

Bd should give line of credit to india to build more toilets.

 

[Michael Corleone]

Cease all dealings with Indian engineering firms, contractors and creditors.

They have no work ethic.. corrupt and wholly inept.


No project where Indians were involved in the history of Bangladesh has ever finished on time.



They've been swept aside from this project, I say good riddance, now onwards and upwards, re-tender other projects and sideline Indian companies.

One word: BANIYA

 

[Bilal9]

My proposal is to construct artificial island(s) over which to construct new Port Terminals in a place where the depth of the sea is such that the ships can anchor without waiting for the neap tides (জোয়ার) to arrive that can be expected if Halishahar is selected for the new Terminals.

The 14th century traveler Ibn Batuta would commit suicide if he finds BD authorities' unchanged static mindset even after seven centuries when BD selects Halishahar for the expansion of the port.

I passed through Kansai airport in Osaka and also the new Hong Kong airport.

Both of those are built on shallow ocean beds and have about 18 meter draft around the areas where these artificial islands were built.

Of course I don't know if we will need an area as big as Kansai (2.5mi X 1.6 mi), but it is certainly doable with large H piles as sea wall barrier.

We can easily build this sort of Island off of the coast near the mouth of the Karnaphuli River. Probably better if it is near KAFCO area in the South of Chittagong. Halishahar/EPZ/Marine Academy/Airport is kind of saturated....

Here is Osaka Kansai details,

"An artificial island, 4 km (2.5 mi) long and 2.5 km (1.6 mi) wide, was proposed. Engineers needed to overcome the extremely high risks of earthquakes and typhoons (with storm surges of up to 3 m, 10 ft). The water depth is 18 m on top of 20 m of soft Holocene clay which holds 70% water.[14][15][16][17] A million sand drains were built into the clay to remove water and solidify the clay.[16][17]

Construction started in 1987. The sea wall was finished in 1989 (made of rock and 48,000 tetrapods). Three mountains were excavated for 21 million m3 (27 million cu yd),[citation needed] and 180 million m3 (240 million cu yd) was used to construct island 1.[15] 10,000 workers and 10 million work hours over three years, using eighty ships, were needed to complete the 30-metre (98 ft) (or 40 m)[15] layer of earth over the sea floor and inside the sea wall. In 1990, a three kilometer bridge was completed to connect the island to the mainland at Rinku Town, at a cost of $1 billion."

Here is Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok Airport, the prime contractor was Mott MacDonald UK (50% of JV) which already has huge involvement in Bangladesh for a while now.

Yes this is quite doable and makes all kinds of sense off Chittagong coast.

 

[fallstuff]

When a sovereign lender ( India, China etc ) insists on buying all materials from their own country it increases cost un-necessarily if locally sourced material is available. You will pay more for it, additionally you got to pay to haul it all the way to a Bangladesh site location.

 

[bluesky]

"An artificial island, 4 km (2.5 mi) long and 2.5 km (1.6 mi) wide, was proposed. Engineers needed to overcome the extremely high risks of earthquakes and typhoons (with storm surges of up to 3 m, 10 ft). The water depth is 18 m on top of 20 m of soft Holocene clay which holds 70% water.[14][15][16][17] A million sand drains were built into the clay to remove water and solidify the clay.[16][17]

Thanks. This is exactly what the BD authorities should do. The location shall be at a place where the draft is over 15m. An 18m draft would be ideal, though!! Patenga soil may compose of silt, clay, and sand, I have no idea.

Since we do not have many mountains nearby, therefore, I would propose soil should be dug out from the Padma/ Meghna river mouths and used for the filling.

But, with 15m of new soil overlaying the present seabed would impose a vertical load of (15m depth x 1.8 t/m3, the unit wt. of soil) = 27 ton per sq. meter. This load will somehow compact the seabed soil and with time will make the entire soil stronger for construction.

However, the terminal buildings and container yards shall certainly be built on long friction piles embedded into the seabed soil.

 

[Bilal9]

Thanks. This is exactly what the BD authorities should do. The location shall be at a place where the draft is over 15m. An 18m draft would be ideal, though!! Patenga soil may compose of silt, clay, and sand, I have no idea.

Since we do not have many mountains nearby, therefore, I would propose soil should be dug out from the Padma/ Meghna river mouths and used for the filling.

But, with 15m of new soil overlaying the present seabed would impose a vertical load of (15m depth x 1.8 t/m3, the unit wt. of soil) = 27 ton per sq. meter. This load will somehow compact the seabed soil and with time will make the entire soil stronger for construction.

However, the terminal buildings and container yards shall certainly be built on long friction piles embedded into the seabed soil.

All good suggestions @bluesky bhai.

For Osaka Kansai, the Japanese used about a million holes filled with compacted sand. These acted as piles for the island. Kansai is till sinking however (about a 1/4 inch per year). They may have to keep filling the soil top with more soil as it settles.

By the way, Cox's Bazaar airport will have a significant portion (25%) of the runway by earth filling the seabed. I included a video sometime back.

 

[lonelyman]

Bay Terminal project now to be funded by World Bank

ECONOMY
Saifuddin Saif

15 July, 2021, 11:05 am
Last modified: 15 July, 2021, 11:10 am

Bangladeshi authorities say Indian credits come with multiple strings attached that delay implementation

Photo- Courtesy

The Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) has decided to step back from the Bay Terminal construction with the Indian Line of Credit (LoC III) tagged by tough credit terms, said a top CPA official.

Requesting anonymity, the official said the CPA is now in talks with the World Bank (WB) about funding for the project.

The international lender has primarily agreed to provide $350 million for breakwater construction and channel dredging for the Bay Terminal.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh continues negotiations seeking more funds for the main project.

Sultan Abdul Hamid, additional secretary (Development) at the Ministry of Shipping, said, "Negotiations are underway. We will be able to mention the size of World Bank funding after the final discussion."

In November 2018, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Bay Terminal project. But project implementation is yet to begin owing to a number of issues, including final feasibility study and funding.

Under the project, three terminals will be constructed at Halishahar in Chattogram, with the CPA building and operating one of them. The authorities now aim to begin construction next year and complete it by 2026.

Apart from funding by development partners, the government and the CPA will invest in the project. According to estimates by the World Bank, the CPA's spending would be $1,150 million.

In 2017, Dhaka signed the third tranche of the LoC with Delhi, and $400 million credit was laid down for the Bay Terminal project.

"But the credit terms are tough," said a CPA high official. "The LoC terms stipulate bringing in construction materials from India. Besides, projects with Indian credit must appoint Indian consultants and contractors, and implementations require the approval of the Indian authorities."

The official said, "These delay implementation. Already completed and ongoing work with Indian loans suggest that Indian contractors completely control construction." The World Bank or the Asian Development Bank (ADB) loans, in contrast, do not come with such strings attached.

The CPA said it has notified the Prime Minister's Office and the Economic Relations Division (ERD) about its decision over not using the Indian LoC in the project.

Professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said Bangladesh should opt for the loans that are more favourable to it.

"Before availing the loan, credit terms such as interest rate, grace period and contractor appointment have to be discussed to reach a decision. If the terms have already been talked about, we should inform India about our preferences," he told The Business Standard.

The railway authorities will implement another project to connect the three terminals by railroads for container transportation. Besides, another separate project will be taken up for road transport to those terminals.

Of the three terminals, DP World, UAE and PSA Singapore will build and operate the remaining two on public private partnership, and Public Private Partnership Authority Bangladesh has already signed MoUs with them.

Previously, India's Adani Group, Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Gateway Terminal and South Korea's Oceans and Fisheries Ministry showed interest in the Bay Terminal construction.

Each of the terminals will have six jetties, which will be able to host ships with at least a capacity of 5,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit).

Around 35 ships will be able to anchor at Chattogram at a time as the Bay Terminal will enable the country to handle an additional 50 lakh containers a year. The vessels will not have to wait for high tides to move around.

In the 2010 primary estimation, construction cost was at $2.1 billion, but it is likely to go up now.

Bay Terminal project now to be funded by World Bank

Bangladeshi authorities say Indian credits come with multiple strings attached that delay implementation

www.google.com

india money is lip service only to slow you down, they don’t even have money for themselves

 

[bluesky]

All good suggestions @bluesky bhai.

For Osaka Kansai, the Japanese used about a million holes filled with compacted sand. These acted as piles for the island. Kansai is till sinking however (about a 1/4 inch per year). They may have to keep filling the soil top with more soil as it settles.

By the way, Cox's Bazaar airport will have a significant portion (25%) of the runway by earth filling the seabed. I included a video sometime back.

The Padma Bridge construction by a Chinese company shows how precarious the soil condition is in Bangladesh. BD silt depth is about 13 km and is composed of loose soil/ silt. Patenga offshore will not be any different.

So, companies who have gained the correct experience of building structures on artificial islands should be asked first to investigate the seabed soil condition. Any of our companies are incapable of doing this kind of soil investigation.

So, I think it would be wise for the authorities to request an experienced Japanese company to do the initial soil investigation with the help of JICA.

But, anyway, BD is planning to build new terminals in Halishahar which lies near a Karnaphuli bend.