Bangladesh has assigns two Japanese companies for the development of Matarbari port

Two contracts were signed on Wednesday between Chittagong Port Authority and Nippon Koei_ JV and between Roads and Highways Department and Oriental Consultants Global Company Limited JV for the consultancy services of Matarbari Port Development Project at Hotel Intercontinental in the capital. As per the deals_ the government will pay Tk 7.0 billion to the companies for their consulting work on the fast-track project. Planning minister MA Mannan and state minister for shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury were virtually present as the chief guest and the special guest respectively during the signing ceremony. According to contracts_ the Japanese Nippon Koei Joint Company and Japan Oriental Consultant Global Company will provide support for building the port. Chattogram Port Authority's project director for Matarbari port development Jafar Alam and Nippon Koei Joint Company representative Naoki Kudo signed the agreement on technical matters of the port. Matarbari port roads and highways development project director Md Sadequl Islam and Oriental Consultant Global Company representative Shunji Yoshihara signed another agreement. Nippon Koei will determine the cost of the project design_ prepare all tender documents and supervise the expenditure related to the infrastructure of the port. It will also help procure building equipment and coordinate up to the commissioning of the port. The government will provide Tk 2.34 billion to Nippon Koei for doing the job. On the other hand_ Oriental Consultant will give suggestions to the government for building streets and link roads to the port. The government will provide the firm Tk 4.66 billion as consultancy fees. The port will link road_ railway and waterway_ thus cutting almost 15-per cent transport cost. The port development cost is estimated at Tk 17.77 billion. Of the funds_ the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide loan worth over Tk 12.89 billion. The rest Tk 22.13 billion will be borne by the Chattogram Port Authority and Tk 26.71 billion by the government. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the Matarbari Port development project on March 10 this year.