Tk.1,330/ton Transit Fee Proposed for Indian Goods

[LaBong]

Comparison within the two countries are not really fair. India has a poverty rate which exceeds the total population of bangladesh. and you can take facts and figures and use it however you want. For example, India boasts of having the largest number of people in poverty and poverty in India is worse than in Africa.

You can't be that thick not to know that India has population 7 times that of Bangladesh.

 

[Roybot]

Comparison within the two countries are not really fair. India has a poverty rate which exceeds the total population of bangladesh. and you can take facts and figures and use it however you want. For example, India boasts of having the largest number of people in poverty and poverty in India is worse than in Africa.

But you should also see the post in response to which I made this post.

 

[saleen_s7]

You can't be that thick not to know that India has population 7 times that of Bangladesh.

Yes, that is exactly what my point was: you can take facts and use it however u want it too for your own benefit

 

[Kaniska]

Let us assume for some time that the proposed road will absolutely of no value to Bangladesh...Then i am really surprised how come the Bangladesh Gov approve Indian Proposal to accept the loan? Of course i agree to the view point that ultimately it is the people of Bangladesh who will repay the loan ..Indian may give X amount of credit in interest ... but loan is a loan ... How come i don't see any big protest or something very aggressive protest by Bangladeshi people against Hasina???

 

[monitor]

there were protest by the opposition but hey failed to mobilized general people against it

 

[twoplustwoisfour]

Seriously, I find it extremely hard to believe that a highway running across the entire breadth of Bangladesh will not be used by any Bangladeshis. Especially when most Bangladeshis here admit that their roads infrastructure is currently inadequate.

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Let us assume for some time that the proposed road will absolutely of no value to Bangladesh...Then i am really surprised how come the Bangladesh Gov approve Indian Proposal to accept the loan? Of course i agree to the view point that ultimately it is the people of Bangladesh who will repay the loan ..Indian may give X amount of credit in interest ... but loan is a loan ... How come i don't see any big protest or something very aggressive protest by Bangladeshi people against Hasina???

I will not go in to detail today as tomorrow I have an exam.. but Look some of the fact... There are priority to build infrastructures... For example padma bridge...which will alone likely to contribute 1.2% to the gdp growth ... along with 4 lane chittagong dhaka highway... which will likely contribute 1.8% to the national GDP... but go in to details and see how far the planned proads and other infrastructure is going to contribute to the BD economy...Hardly none.. as we do not need benapol-agartola road that much specially to widen it and make it usable for heavy truck which bd do not have, to build 2 terminals in chittagong and mongla port to operate indian goods, 2 rail way line from the 2 port to connect it to the benapol-agartola road to carry the goods from the port... etc.. Previously we assumed that the cost is 1 billion only... but now we are seeing this it will be 7 billion... but what will be the return bd will get for this investment for duty free transit which is infact a corridor??

N second thing India actually forwarded the credit to promote its sub standard product. According to the loan condition Indian comoanies will build all the infrastructure, indian consaltant will supervise those and all those project must get approval from foreign ministry of India... then where is the sovereignity of Bangladesh here???

3rdly majority of the bangladeshi are still in dark about this transit... from economic adviser of PM to different ministers, other government officials each and every 1 saying different thing each and every day regarding transit...when people will be fully aware of this then definitely their will be a backslash...

For economic term even if you think... what is the profit of bd to give india a free transit after investing 7 billion dollar??? If bangladesh it in more priority projects like building power plant, priority infrastructure projects, or in education etc then do you not think that bd will earn more benefot then giving India a free transit under present scheme???

 

[Kaniska]

Dear Sami I completely agree with you....I am not an expert in Bangladesh economy but i find it strange that if the deal is really not providing any benifit to BD...then how come public did not come on to the street?Why there is not any public litigation against your GOV to stop the deal? Please dont cite any example of India...as i know my country is not perfect either....I am just trying to realize..what is the real reason BD Gov agreed to this proposal?

 

[eastwatch]

Hypocrisy was fun until internet and google arrived.

Shifting Millions from Open Defecation to Hygienic Practices by Ms Rokeya Ahmed-2006

Yes, we know how rich Indians have to drink water infested with SUPERBUGS. You should be proud of your living standard, which is below sub-Saharan countries. This is one reason that we do not want Indian truck drivers inside our country.

Scientists find superbugs in Delhi drinking water | Science | bdnews24.com

Scientists find superbugs in Delhi drinking water
Thu, Apr 7th, 2011 8:20 pm BdST

LONDON, Apr 7 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - A gene that makes bugs highly resistant to almost all known antibiotics has been found in bacteria in water supplies in New Delhi used by local people for drinking, washing and cooking, scientists said on Thursday.

The NDM 1 gene, which creates what some experts describe as "super superbugs," has spread to germs that cause cholera and dysentery, and is circulating freely in other bacteria in the Indian city capital of 14 million people, the researchers said.

"The inhabitants of New Delhi are continually being exposed to multidrug-resistant and NDM 1-positive bacteria," said Mark Toleman of Britain's Cardiff University School of Medicine, who published the findings in a study on Thursday.

A "substantial number" of them are consuming such bacteria on a daily basis, he told a briefing in London. "We believe we have discovered a very significant underlying source of NDM 1 in the capital city of India," he said.

NDM 1, or New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1, makes bacteria resistant to almost all antibiotics, including the most powerful class, called carbapenems.

It first emerged in India three years ago and has now spread across the world. It has been found in a wide variety of bugs, including familiar pathogens like Escherichia coli, or E. coli.

No new drugs are on the horizon for at least 5-6 years to tackle it and experts are concerned that only a few major drug companies, such as GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, still have strong antibiotic development programmes.

Toleman's study, carried out with Cardiff University's Timothy Walsh and published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, investigated how common NDM 1-producing bacteria are in community waste seepage -- such as water pools or rivulets in streets -- and tap water in urban New Delhi.

The researchers collected 171 swabs from seepage water and 50 public tap water samples from sites within a 12 kilometer radius of central New Delhi between September and October 2010.

The NDM 1 gene was found in two of the drinking-water samples and 51 of seepage samples, the researchers said, and bacteria positive for NDM 1 were grown from two drinking-water samples and 12 seepage samples.

"We would expect that perhaps as many as half a million people are carrying NDM 1-producing bacteria as normal (gut) flora in New Dehli alone," Toleman said.

Experts say the spread of superbugs threatens whole swathes of modern medicine, which cannot be practiced if doctors have no effective antibiotics to ward off infections during surgery, intensive care or cancer treatments like chemotherapy.

In a commentary about Walsh and Toleman's findings, Mohd Shahid from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Uttar Pradesh, India, said global action was needed.

"The potential for wider international spread of ... NDM 1 is real and should not be ignored," he wrote.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated April 7 as World Health Day and under the slogan "No action today, no cure tomorrow" it is campaigning about the risks of life-saving antibiotics losing their healing power.

"We are at a critical point in time where antibiotic resistance is reaching unprecedented levels," said Zsuzsanna Jakab, the WHO's regional director for Europe.

"Given the growth of travel and trade in Europe and across the world, people should be aware that until all countries tackle this, no country alone can be safe."

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Dear Sami I completely agree with you....I am not an expert in Bangladesh economy but i find it strange that if the deal is really not providing any benifit to BD...then how come public did not come on to the street?Why there is not any public litigation against your GOV to stop the deal? Please dont cite any example of India...as i know my country is not perfect either....I am just trying to realize..what is the real reason BD Gov agreed to this proposal?

US is creating pressure on behalf of india... US tried to do it also during the previous govt... n us is also forcing bd to sell gas to india so that india do not buy gas from iran but when bd is facing gas crisis... bd is also not developing its own gas resource now for this reason...

n public is still in dark on transit.. there are many transit releted thread in this forum.. look in each news different ministers and government officials are provising different comments...it is just a ploy to keep people in dark...

But the more people will come to know about this... more will be a backslash... Just imagine what you can expect from a free transit in which you will have to provide transit facility with your own money...

 

[Roybot]

Yes, we know how rich Indians have to drink water infested with SUPERBUGS. You should be proud of your living standard, which is below sub-Saharan countries. This is one reason that we do not want Indian truck drivers inside our country.

Well I never bragged about it, you did. I just showed you the mirror, now take it easy. You can go fool someone else about Bangladesh and your living standard. I have had the luxury of visiting your little country couple of times. So lets not digress from the topic anymore

 

[PRACTICAL PATRIOT]

i was off this site from long time so i have missed lot of action i guess

i saw lot of bangladeshi's claiming that BD is getting nothing out of this deal and still it is baring infrastructure cost which seems absurd. can anyone enlighten me whats in this deal for BD?

 

[eastwatch]

If you go through the report, Chapter 5 deals with the costs associated with this project, including all capital costs. Let me quote from the report:

We have used data from four sources to estimate current road construction costs of a standard construction National Road in Bangladesh—that is a two lane highway with a crest width of 12.2 metres and a pavement width of 5.5 to 7.3 metres. They are:

1. The Bangladesh Roads and Highway Department (RHD) estimates1 that the current capital cost of road construction for a two lane National Road
standard road is 60 million Taka (Tk.) per kilometre—around $US0.851M at current exchange rates

2. From the World Bank’s Road Costs Knowledge System (ROCKS), average construction costs for a two lane highway—the standard of most of
Bangladesh’s national roads—in the Asian region is given as $US0.875M per kilometre in year 2000 dollars. Escalating to 2010 dollars (by the US CPI)
gives an approximate current of $US1.105M per kilometre

3. The Bangladesh Roads and Highways Department (RHD) reported in 1999 that the value of road assets was approximately $US 7.4 billion. Escalating that value and applying that to the road network at the time and assuming that regional roads are half the cost per kilometre of the national roads—
reasonable as many are only single lane and zila roads (feeder roads) are one third the cost of national roads gives a cost for national roads as $US0.841M per kilometre; and

4. A selection of major road widening, upgrading and improvement projects—in essence new construction—provided by the RHD showed an average
estimated expenditure of $US0.943M per kilometre. The sample of seven high priority projects totalled over 1200 kilometres of road.

These four sources all confirm similar costs and thus we have used the average—a construction cost of $US0.935M per kilometre for a national highway standard road.
So yes, this tariff takes into consideration all capital costs as well as maintenance costs envisaged for a new 2 lane highway.

So yes, this tariff takes into consideration all capital costs as well as maintenance costs envisaged for a new 2 lane highway.

Your post above that contains different sources to estimate the cost of building a two-lane road is not compatible to the $19/tonne transshipment fee that a govt committee is proposing to the GoB.

Let me take your estimation of say, $1 million to build a kilometer of a two-lane road, and let me say the length of this road is 500 km. So, BD govt will spend $500 million to build this road.

Now, the issue here is how to recuperate this ($500million + yearly maintenance cost of $10 million + another $100million to re-carpeting every ten years). Calculate and you will find the cost per year is $70 million. Will a $19 per tonne net will pay us $70 million per year? If you run 150 to 200 hundred trucks each day, sunny or rainy, only then BD govt will earn this money. But, this is not the end of the payment. Note the following:

1) Your calculations have not taken into account the payment the GoB will make to buy or lease the (25m wide x 500 km long) land on which the road will be built. So, calculate also the value of this land.

2) You did not say anything also about the construction of tens of bridges and culverts that this road will need. How much do you think it will cost to build? Include this cost also.

So, better you re-calculate, and you will find that it is worthless to build a highway for transshipments of Indian goods through our land, the per tonne fee of which is only $19. Better you stick to the present (BoB + Ashuganj + Agartala) route only, and $19 per tonne fee may be okay.

 

[Bang Galore]

WTO Rules

Article V: Freedom of Transit

1. Goods (including baggage), and also vessels and other means of transport, shall be deemed to be in transit across the territory of a contracting party when the passage across such territory, with or without trans-shipment, warehousing, breaking bulk, or change in the mode of transport, is only a portion of a complete journey beginning and terminating beyond the frontier of the contracting party across whose territory the traffic passes. Traffic of this nature is termed in this article “traffic in transit”.

2. There shall be freedom of transit through the territory of each contracting party, via the routes most convenient for international transit, for traffic in transit to or from the territory of other contracting parties. No distinction shall be made which is based on the flag of vessels, the place of origin, departure, entry, exit or destination, or on any circumstances relating to the ownership of goods, of vessels or of other means of transport.

3. Any contracting party may require that traffic in transit through its territory be entered at the proper custom house, but, except in cases of failure to comply with applicable customs laws and regulations, such traffic coming from or going to the territory of other contracting parties shall not be subject to any unnecessary delays or restrictions and shall be exempt from customs duties and from all transit duties or other charges imposed in respect of transit, except charges for transportation or those commensurate with administrative expenses entailed by transit or with the cost of services rendered.

4. All charges and regulations imposed by contracting parties on traffic in transit to or from the territories of other contracting parties shall be reasonable, having regard to the conditions of the traffic.

5. With respect to all charges, regulations and formalities in connection with transit, each contracting party shall accord to traffic in transit to or from the territory of any other contracting party treatment no less favourable than the treatment accorded to traffic in transit to or from any third country.*

6. Each contracting party shall accord to products which have been in transit through the territory of any other contracting party treatment no less favourable than that which would have been accorded to such products had they been transported from their place of origin to their destination without going through the territory of such other contracting party. Any contracting party shall, however, be free to maintain its requirements of direct consignment existing on the date of this Agreement, in respect of any goods in regard to which such direct consignment is a requisite condition of eligibility for entry of the goods at preferential rates of duty or has relation to the contracting party’s prescribed method of valuation for duty purposes.

7. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to the operation of aircraft in transit, but shall apply to air transit of goods (including baggage).

 

[twoplustwoisfour]

Your post above that contains different sources to estimate the cost of building a two-lane road is not compatible to the $19/tonne transshipment fee that a govt committee is proposing to the GoB.

Let me take your estimation of say, $1 million to build a kilometer of a two-lane road, and let me say the length of this road is 500 km. So, BD govt will spend $500 million to build this road.

Now, the issue here is how to recuperate this ($500million + yearly maintenance cost of $10 million + another $100million to re-carpeting every ten years). Calculate and you will find the cost per year is $70 million. Will a $19 per tonne net will pay us $70 million per year? If you run 150 to 200 hundred trucks each day, sunny or rainy, only then BD govt will earn this money. But, this is not the end of the payment. Note the following:

1) Your calculations have not taken into account the payment the GoB will make to buy or lease the (25m wide x 500 km long) land on which the road will be built. So, calculate also the value of this land.

2) You did not say anything also about the construction of tens of bridges and culverts that this road will need. How much do you think it will cost to build? Include this cost also.

So, better you re-calculate, and you will find that it is worthless to build a highway for transshipments of Indian goods through our land, the per tonne fee of which is only $19. Better you stick to the present (BoB + Ashuganj + Agartala) route only, and $19 per tonne fee may be okay.

It would have been better if you would have actually gone through the report in post #121 before posting.

The fee of US$ 55 per truck (or US$ 3.67 per ton) includes all capital costs as well as Operations and Maintenance costs.

Capital costs include:

1. Cost of land acquisition
2. Cost of construction
3. Costs of replacing depreciated assets

Coming to the second point of costs of bridges, culverts etc., the indices shown above include the same. Please go through their methodologies.

Now, the third point of Operations and Maintenance, not only are those costs considered before arriving at this figure, but an inflationary multiplier is also taken into account for future costs.

Again, please go through the report before placing doubts. If you have any questions regarding the methodology, then I'll be happy to help you.