News from Bangladesh-Updates and Discussion

[Arthur]

Home > Economy
PM to inaugurate BRT, metrorail work on Jun 26
Staff Correspondent, bdnews24.com

Published: 2016-06-16 15:08:23.0 BdST Updated: 2016-06-16 20:00:00.0 BdST


The construction of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and a metrorail system in Dhaka will be officially flagged off on Jun 26.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the two projects during a ceremony at Banganbandhu International Conference Centre.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told a media briefing on Thursday that this will help "expedite the implementation of two projects on schedule."

Metrorail

Preparations for the Metrorail project were underway and work would now begin, he said. The construction of the depots had already started.

Metrorail’s Route-6, from Uttara to Motijheel’s Shapla Chattar, will be elevated all the way.

The route would have six stations, while trains would carry 60,000 passengers both ways every hour, he said.

In the first phase, the trains will go up to Agargaon in 2019, while the extension to Motijheel will be completed by 2020.

Bids have been invited for six of the eight project packages, and the deal for one has already been finalised.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is providing Tk 165.95 billion of the Tk 220 billion project covering a distance of 20km.

The minister also talked about two other routes: Routes 1 and 5.

Route-1 will run from Gazipur to Keraniganj’s Jhilmil project. The first phase of the construction will extend from the airport to Kamalapur, and from Khilkhet to Purbachal.

Ten kilometres of this 27-km track will be underground.

The plan for Route-5 has been finalised to connect the metropolis from east to west. The 35-km track will lie between Bhulta in Narayanganj to Gabtoli.

The primary phase, comprising 17-km from Bhatara to Gabtoli-Hemayetpur, will include six kilometres of underground tracks.

JICA has already started the feasibility studies for Route-1 and 5, said the minister.

BRT

The road transport minister said the Bus Rapid Transit was intended to make travel between central Dhaka and Uttara and Tongi easy.

He said more commuters will be able to avail fast, cheap, and environment-friendly travel by the BRT, while the capital would be freed of gridlocks.

Obaidul Quader said around 25,000 people would be able to commute hourly once the transit was up and running. Buses would leave the stations every three minutes.

"There will be 25 stations on the 20.5-km BRT route from the Gazipur terminal to the airport. Six flyovers will also be built."

Elaborating on the government's plan, he said 4.5km - Uttara to Tongi - of the total route length would be an elevated lane.

"The remaining 16 kilometres will be on the ground. Altogether 100 articulated buses will run on this route. Commuters will use electronic smart cards to pay bus fares."

The minister said the government, Asian Development Bank, French Development Agency and Global Environmental Facility Fund are jointly funding the Tk 20.4 billion project.

"We've already finished the preparatory work and begun implementing it. We hope to open the BRT in December 2018," he added.

Source: https://defence.pk/threads/developments-in-bangladesh.184826/page-28#ixzz4Bm1ROidc

 

[Arthur]

Home > Bangladesh
Bangladesh-based BRAC returns to top spot in NGO ADVISOR’s 2016 Top 500 NGOs
News Desk, bdnews24.com

Published: 2016-06-19 23:20:43.0 BdST Updated: 2016-06-19 23:20:43.0 BdST


The Bangladesh-based non-government organisation BRAC has returned to the number one position in media organisation NGO ADVISOR’s 2016 Top 500 NGOs World rankings.


"This recognition is truly an honour," Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder and chairperson of BRAC, said in a media release on Sunday.

NGO ADVISOR, based in Geneva, launched the ranking this year.

Its co-founder Jean-Christophe Nothias is a journalist formerly with The Global Journal, which developed the rankings methodology in 2009.

In 2013, BRAC held the first position, but dropped to second the following year. Now it has clinched the first position again by pushing Doctors Without Borders to second place.

Other notable NGOs in the top 500 include Oxfam at fifth, Save the Children at ninth, and Grameen Bank at 12th positions.

The release said NGO ADVISOR had placed BRAC first based on its impact, innovation and sustainability.

BRAC was praised for its holistic approach to fighting poverty, treating it as a system of interrelated barriers that must be addressed concurrently, it added.



http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2016...to-top-spot-in-ngo-advisors-2016-top-500-ngos

 

[Arthur]

bangladesh >> published: 11:54 june 21, 2016 >> updated : 14:54 june 21, 2016
PM's Eid gift: Fast train for Dhaka-Ctg route
Shohel Mamun
The government is going to launch a speedy train with a four-hour journey on the Dhaka-Chittagong route for the sake of home-goers ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would inaugurate the service on June 25 at Kamalapur Railway Station and it would continue after Eid as well, Railway Minister Mazibul Hoque told the Dhaka Tribune on Monday night.

The minister said: “The railway distance between Dhaka and Chittagong is 370km and the train will run at a speed of around 100km per hour. It will move without staying at any stoppage.”

Currently, an intercity train reaches to Chittagong from Dhaka by 7 to 7.30 hours. The name of the new train yet to be fixed though the railway ministry has already suggested four names to the PM.

Mazibul Hoque also said: “The new train is gift for the commuters from the Prime Minister ahead of Eid.”

A railway official said the trial of the train took place on Saturday as well.

The red and green colour train include 16 coaches with 64 seats each, which had been imported from India and Indonesia.

- See more at: http://www.dhakatribune.com/banglad...haka-ctg-route-ahead-eid#sthash.hIHis9Y2.dpuf

 

[bongbang]

Bangladesh more peaceful in South Asia, after Bhutan and Nepal.

http://www.visionofhumanity.org/

 

[Arthur]

Teletalk ties up with Huawei for network expansion
BSS
27 June, 2016 19:45


State-owned cellular phone operator Teletalk today struck a $39.2 million deal with Chinese firm Huawei for its 2G and 3G network up-gradation and expansion.



Teletalk Managing Director Gias Uddin Ahmed and Huawei Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Colin Shi put pen on the agreement paper at Posts and Telecommunications Division (PDT) in presence of State Minister Tarana Halim.



Speaking on the occasion, Tarana Halim said Huawei would install 685 2G BTSs and 559 Node-Bs (3G BTS) and upgrade core network of Teletalk in next 18 months involving $39.2 million under the agreement.



She hoped the implementation of this project would help Teletalk to expand its coverage in remote areas across the country. Mentioning that nearly 8,000 BTSs are required for the Teletalk to expand its footprint every nook and cranny in the country, but the operator, she said, is offering services through only 3,750 BTSs.



Referring to the government's initiatives of Teletalk's network up-gradation and expansion, the state minister said another new project has been adopted for the operator's 2G and 3G network expansion in rural areas. Posts and Telecommunications Division (PTD) Secretary Faizur Rahman Chowdhury, BTRC Chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood and officials concerned were present on the occasion.



Later, PTD Secretary signed Annual Performance Agreement (APA) with its affiliated organizations.


http://www.daily-sun.com/post/147594/Teletalk-ties-up-with-Huawei-for-network-
expansion



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Teletalk gets Tk 676cr for network expansion

Star Business Report
The government has taken a Tk 676-crore project to expand the 3G network of Teletalk to all upazilas, growth centres and educational institutions, and 2.5G network to all villages.

The project got the approval at yesterday's meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council.

To build the network, around 1,200 base stations will be set up and High Speed Packet Access will be installed to improve the existing 3G capacity.

Some 500 base transceiver stations (BTS) will be set up to improve the 2.5G network in rural areas.

To implement the project, assistance from the Chinese government was sought; but after the lack of a positive response, the government decided to run the project with its own resources, said a planning ministry official.

The project, once it is completed in 2017, is expected to bump up the state-run mobile operator's subscriber base by 17 lakh.

Teletalk will be able to compete with the market giants after the completion of the project, said Tarana Halim, state minister for telecom.

Teletalk received the 3G licence one year earlier than the other private operators, but the state-run operator could not play a big role in the market due to poor investment for network development, she said. “Now things will change.”

Earlier, another project was taken for the expansion of the 3G network whose tenure ended in 2015.

Some 1,562 BTS towers were set up, through which 3G network was rolled out in all divisional and district headquarters.

Another 2,100 BTS towers were installed through which 2.5G network was introduced in the upazilas.

About 65 lakh subscribers were created through the project, according to the planning ministry.

Also at yesterday's meeting, a Tk 1,278-crore project got a go-ahead for the expansion and upgradation of the electricity distribution system in west zone.

After the completion of the construction of the Padma bridge in 2018, the demand for electricity would increase a lot, said Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal after the meeting.

“This project has been taken up to meet the impending demand,” he added.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2020.

Besides, Ecnec also approved three revised projects whose costs were increased two to four times and deadlines extended.

The project for setting up power generation units and sugar refinery using a co-generation system at the North Bengal Sugar Mills was taken up in 2014, when the estimated cost was Tk 73.47 crore and the completion deadline was 2016.

But as of March this year, only 2.53 percent of the fund has been spent.

The Ecnec revised the cost upwards to Tk 324 crore and extended the deadline to 2018.

The planning ministry proposal said the costs soared as three new components were added to the project.

Another project whose allocation was increased is the Baniachong-Ajmeriganj Road Construction one. Its costs have been raised to Tk 116 crore from the earlier estimate of Tk 73.09 crore.




http://www.thedailystar.net/business/teletalk-gets-tk-676cr-network-expansion-1243588

 

[neolithic]

Magura miracle kid doing well

 

[Arthur]

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2016-08/09/content_26399204.htm


Chinese firm signs $4.44b deal to build railway in Bangladesh
(Xinhua) Updated: 2016-08-09 09:25

DHAKA - A State-owned Chinese company has signed a $4.44-billion agreement to build a railway via Bangladesh's largest Padma bridge.

China Railway Construction Corp Ltd (CRCC) signed the official construction contract with the Bangladeshi government on Monday in capital Dhaka.

Zhang Xuecai, deputy general manager of China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group CO LTD (CREEC) and Amzad Hossain, director general of Bangladesh Railway, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

Last month, the Bangladeshi government gave the final go-ahead to the Chinese company to start construction of the 215 km-long Padma rail link from capital Dhaka to Jessore district, 164 km away from capital Dhaka.

CREEC was commissioned to construct the railroad for 247.49 billion taka ($3.14 billion). Construction is scheduled to be completed by June 30, 2022.

The total project cost would be met through China's government soft loan and from the government's own funds.

The rail link project also includes construction of 66 main bridges, 244 minor bridges, 14 new rail stations and procurement of 100 passenger coaches, according to the proposal from Bangladesh's railway ministry.

It said trains will travel at a maximum speed of 120 km per hour on the link. The project will be built under the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) project aimed at creating an integrated freight railway network across Europe and Asia.

This is also reportedly a project of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Unescap).

The Padma bridge will be double-decker with a four-lane road on the upper deck and a broad gauge single railway track on the lower deck.


A portion of the rail line reportedly will be up and running by 2018, when the Bangladeshi government presents the much-publicized infrastructure project to the public, as the Padma bridge can be used by both road and rail.

In December last year, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the main works of the country's biggest Padma Bridge project by unveiling its foundation plaque.

Prior to the inauguration of the main bridge's construction works, she unveiled the plaque of the river training works, the second most costly component of the $3 billion project conducted by one of the largest international companies, Sinohydro Corporation Limited.

Hasina said the bridge will shorten travel time between capital Dhaka and the country's southern region, boosting entire trade and economic activities.

Experts say the bridge when it comes into operation in 2018 will ease pressure on the country's premier seaport in Chittagong, 242 km southeast of capital Dhaka, as it will bolster the second largest Mongla seaport in Bagerhat district, 178 km southwest of the capital city.

In June 2014, the Bangladeshi government awarded China Major Bridge Engineering Company Limited a $1.55-billion contract to build core structure of the Padma Bridge project which is to be completed in four years.

The 25-meter-wide and 10-km-long bridge will be built over Padma River, one of the three major rivers in Bangladesh.

About 6.15 km of the bridge is being built over the river while the remaining part on both banks. Apart from connecting nearly 30 million people in Bangladesh's southwest region to the rest of the country, the bridge will enhance regional trade and collaboration along the Asian highway No 1 and the Trans-Asian railway network.

The bridge is among the six projects that are under direct supervision of the Fast Track Project Monitoring Committee headed by Hasina.

-------------------------------------------------------------



Home > Economy
Chinese ship anchors at Bangladesh’s Payra port ahead of inauguration on Aug 13
Sanjay Kumar Das, Patuakhali Correspondent, bdnews24.com

Published: 2016-08-01 20:30:38.0 BdST Updated: 2016-08-01 20:30:38.0 BdST

• 
  
  File Photo

Payra Sea Port has unofficially been flagged off through the anchorage of a commercial vessel from China.






MV Fortune Bird reached the outer anchorage of the port in southwestern Patuakhali district on Monday afternoon.

The vessel, however, could not unload the 53,000 tonnes stone, mostly for the Padma Bridge, due to bad weather, Payra Port Authority Chairman Captain Saidur Rahman told bdnews24.com.

Several other foreign ships would reach the port in the next few days.

The port will be officially inaugurated in a ceremony on Aug 13, Captain Saidur said.

“Ships depend on high tide in other ports, but there is no such problem with Payra port because of its deep navigability. Ships can travel to the port 24 hours a day,” the chairman added.



http://bdnews24.com/economy/2016/08...hs-payra-port-ahead-of-inauguration-on-aug-13




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Update : 2016-02-12 18:05:04

Govt moves to set up Bhanga-Barisal rail link

UNB

The government has taken a major initiative to set up rail lines from Faridpur to Barisal and thus establish rail connectivity between Barisal and capital Dhaka through the Padma Multipurpose Bridge. The Ministry of Railways has recently sent a Preliminary Development Project Proposal (PDPP) to the Planning Commission on 'Construction of Broad Gauge Railway Line from Bhanga to Barisal and Feasibility Study from Barisal to Payra Sea Port Section' involving Tk 9,990 crore. Under the proposed project, a 100-km railway track will be set up from Bhanga in Faridpur to Barisal and then a feasibility study will be conducted to further extend the railway communications from Barisal to Payra Sea Port of Patuakhali, a Planning Commission official preferring anonymity told UNB. Bangladesh Railway will implement the proposed project from July 2016 to June 2021. The Planning Commission official said the Barisal Division, encompassing half of the southern part of the country, has no railway connectivity although the region is important as it has a maritime port and has a reputation of being a big rice bowl. "Rail link will enhance economic activities in the region. In the future, it can be extended to the proposed Payra Sea Port," the official added. The Planning Commission official further said the Bhanga-Barisal route will get connected with the proposed Padma railway link thus deriving the full benefit of the Padma Bridge, which will connect Barisal and Dhaka through a shorter route. The distance from Dhaka to Barisal will then be 185 kilometers, reducing the travel time by three hours. He said many people will be able to travel conveniently to their workplaces. "The proposed project will link Barisal with Khulna, Jessore, Benapole, Darsana, Mongla Port, Rajshahi and other important areas of Bangladesh. Of the total project cost, he said, Tk 1998 crore will come from the national exchequer while Tk 7,992 crore from project assistance, likely from the government of China or any other donor agency. Besides, an official at the Ministry of Railways said the cost estimation of the proposed project has been made based on the Padma Bridge Rail Link project, Phase 1 (Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga). The actual cost will be determined after conducting the feasibility study and detailed design. Once the project is completed, the official said, people from all over Bangladesh will get the benefit of speedy, safe, low-cost and comfortable railway transportation facility to Barisal, improving the socioeconomic condition of Bangladesh. This project will help link Barisal with Dhaka as well as with the rest of the country enabling Bangladesh Railway to introduce train services for carrying passengers and goods.





Rail lines all the way to Barisal Division: Hasina - bdnews24.com

 

[bongbang]

BANGLADESH RECLAIM LAND FROM SEA

The Land Reclamation Project supported by the Netherlands was launched in 1977. This was one of the first systematic efforts to study the potential for land reclamation. Since then, the Netherlands has continued to support the Bangladesh Water Development Board in carrying out a number of projects using cross dams to accelerate the build-up of land. As a result, the country has so far reclaimed more than 1000 square kilometers of land from the sea south of Noakhali. For more in Bangla: http://www.bd-pratidin.com/first-page/2016/08/10/162346

Embassy of the Netherlands in Bangladesh

 

[Arthur]

• Home
• Bangladesh

Industries give locality a new lease of life
Mir Mahmudul Hasan . Nilphamari | Update: 20:47, Aug 19, 2016

0Like

Last year the Hong Kong firm Evergreen exported 35 million wigs worldwide, earning more than $15 million. It’s factory is in an export processing zone of North Bengal in Bangladesh and employs 15 thousand workers from 10 nearby villages.

Just 15 years ago, Songolshi union was a poverty-stricken area about 10 kilometers from Nilphamari. Now 12 local and foreign companies have set up factories on 140 plots of land in this Uttara export processing zone. Eight of these are Hong Kong-based and one is from the United Kingdom. The rest are local. The factories here produce items like sweaters, spectacles and even coffins. A British company Oasis has trained local women in making bamboo and cane caskets for funerals.

According to Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA), these factories have exported $188,800,000 worth of products in the last fiscal year alone.

Currently there are 22 thousand workers employed in the Uttara EPZ and 65% of them are women. There are alo 20 foreign and local factories surrounding the EPZ which also employ thousands of people. These factories are changing the face of the area rapidly. In the villages nearby, the farmers are turning into factory workers. The once sleepy little village homes are becoming livelier and prosperous.

Local people say that once the farmers here were unemployed most of the year and lived in poverty. Many used to leave for other districts to find work. Now, people from other districts come here to find work and settle in the area.

At six in the morning in the EPZ, thousands of people can be seen entering the factories. They com t work on cycle, motorbikes, easy-bikes and on foot.

By seven in the morning, most of the workers are at their stations. Then from four in the afternoon, they leave the factories in streams, heading back home.

In the mornings and later afternoons the rods of the area teem with the factory workers going to work and returning home. The easy-bike business is booming due to these commuters.

Waiting at a factory gate, rickshaw-van puller Azinur Islam (30) said his home was nearly eight kilometers away in Choraikhola union. His wife, Komola Begum, has been working at a leather factory in the EPZ for around two years. She earns more than him, about Tk 7-8 thousand per month. He takes his wife to work and back in his van. Other workers from that area also travel by his van, and he earns around Tk 6 thousand per month. He says that before his family was poor. Now they earn enough to even save at the end of the month.

Many women and men from village, Itakhali union work in the factories. The village Haribollob of Itakhola union has transformed entirely over the years, with many of its men and women employed in these factories. Babul Chandra Ray (40) was originally a farmer and could not find work throughout the year. He would ply a rickshaw for a living.. He didn’t own land. His three daughters now work at the EPZ and bring together home Tk 30 thousand a month. Babul now owns land and has three tin-roofed houses.

Anwarul Islam (24) and his wife Parvin Akhter (22) work at Evergreen. They earn Tk 15 thousand together monthly. He has studied up to grade 10, his wife up to grade 8. After five years of working, they bought a motorbike and a new home.

At around 4 pm, we meet Parimol Roy (23) at the EPZ gate, taking his wife Rani Ray (18) home on a bicycle. They live almost 10 kilometers away. Both of them work at Evergreen. He works at packaging, his wife makes wigs. He was a sharecropper before, working on leased land. Now he leases land to others.

Deputy General Manager of Evergreen Subrata Sarkar said that 65 percent of their 15 thousand workers are women. Last year they earned $15 million from exporting wigs. They mostly produce carnival and synthetic wigs.

The president of the chamber of commerce and industry at Nilphamari SM Shafiqul Alam said that the area here was once mostly agricultural. No one had seen any other factories other than rice mills. Farmers would be unemployed for most the year and the women would spend their time at home. Now both men and women are working at the factories and earning money.

The general manager of Uttara EPZ Mohammed Janab Ali said that when the EPZ was first launched in 2001, there wasn’t much expectations about the project. There was only one factory named Uttara sweaters. Now, 12 companies have constructed factories on 140 plots of land. Nine of these companies are foreign and 40 more plots have been readied, most of which has been booked already.

Due to the construction of the new factories, the demand for electricity in the area has increased, said the general manager. “EPZ now needs 15 megawatts of electricity. The Rural Electrification Board has made a 10 megawatt power substation here. We have asked for it to be expanded, but progress has been slow.”

 

[UKBengali]

BD needs more of these export processing zones.

Once there are a lot of them, then they will compete with garment factories for
labour and that will drive up wages and so better living standards for workers.

I will give Awami League credit where it is deserved as they seem to have a good policy
for industrial development in BD.

 

[Bilal9]

Guys sorry a small OT post- revived my Bangladeshi Music Thread after a while, check it out.

https://defence.pk/threads/bangladeshi-music.167340/page-15#post-8642876

 

[Arthur]

Guys sorry a small OT post- revived my Bangladeshi Music Thread after a while, check it out.

https://defence.pk/threads/bangladeshi-music.167340/page-15#post-8642876

dude,these threads at General multimedia section is very tough to keep track of, and looks like you are the only one who contributes there.

What's the motivation of the mods to move it there? Maybe cuz these doesn't attracts trolls.

Anyway good job, carry on.Kudos!!

 

[Bilal9]

dude,these threads at General multimedia section is very tough to keep track of, and looks like you are the only one who contributes there.

What's the motivation of the mods to move it there? Maybe cuz these doesn't attracts trolls, so no trp for the site.

Anyway good job, carry on.Kudos!!

Thanks brother. The multimedia section has five of my threads including

1. the 'Bangladeshi fashion' thread,
2. the 'Dhaka Mid-rises' thread,
3. 'Dhaka restaurants' thread,
4. 'Bangladeshi music' thread and
5. 'Made in Bangladesh' thread....

these days hardly any time to update these but they should all usually be in the first page of that multimedia section...and you're right. I hide it there to avoid people ruining the threads with faaltu comments...

 

[Aung Zaya]

Thanks brother. The multimedia section has five of my threads including

1. the 'Bangladeshi fashion' thread,
2. the 'Dhaka Mid-rises' thread,
3. 'Dhaka restaurants' thread,
4. 'Bangladeshi music' thread and
5. 'Made in Bangladesh' thread....

these days hardly any time to update these but they should all usually be in the first page of that multimedia section...and you're right. I hide it there to avoid people ruining the threads with faaltu comments...

i uesd to start with those threads except BD fashion before entering BD forum.. great threads...!!

 

[RISING SUN]

http://m.timesofindia.com/world/sou...t-dead-in-Bangladesh/articleshow/53995027.cms