Bangladesh boosts Bay of Bengal blue economy

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The stage is defined for the development of the deep sea Matarbari Port Development Project (MPDP) in Bangladesh. The Japan International Cooperation Firm (JICA) has agreed to provide US$ 25.4 million in financial assistance for the job and a Japanese consulting company, Nippon Koei JV, has been short outlined to provide engineering-related solutions. The MPDP is likely to commence commercial procedures in 2026, and will be capable of receiving 8,500 TEU post-Panamax vessels. Plans are also underway to improve the port’s capacity to 2.8 million TEUs annually by adding more berths in the future. The MPDP emerges in the backdrop of the “Big-B” concept, i.e. Bay of Bengal Industrial Expansion Belt, which was declared by Bangladesh and Japan in 2014. The port has been linked with a countrywide highway and the MPDP incorporates building of a connecting road.

There are in least two major spinoffs that could accrue to Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal region. First, it will reduce Bangladesh’s “reliance on the feeder vessels to ferry export-import items from different overseas ports.” Nearly 90 % of Bangladesh’s trade can be carried onboard ships that operate out of 3 ports-Chattogram, Mongla and Payra. In 2017-18, Chattogram port accounted for 98.43 per cent of Bangladesh’s seaborne container trade and the total amount was moved through Mongla port. Bangladesh relies on major container transshipment ports in Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia for its international containerised trade.

Second, the MPDP potentially supplies the much-needed impetus to brief sea shipping in the Bay of Bengal. According to Bangladesh’s Talk about Minister for Transport, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, the MPDP could develop as a “regional hub of connectivity.” Short sea transport in the Bay of Bengal location has been on top of the regional countries’ agenda and a start was already made out of the commencement of providers between Port Blair found in India’s Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Aceh in Sumatra, Indonesia. Similarly, connectivity between Interface Blair and Ranong (Thailand) provides the much-wanted impetus to brief sea shipping in the Andaman Ocean. In this context, it really is useful to mention that the Indian government has announced INR 10,000 crore to build a container transshipment hub in the Nicobar Islands. It could entail “container transshipment terminal with the Totally free Trade Warehousing Area in South Bay, Superb Nicobar Island to supply Indian shippers an alternative to Colombo, Singapore and Port Klang (Malaysia) transshipment ports.”

As the MPDP’s contribution to the Bay of Bengal region’s blue economy probable is widely welcomed and acknowledged, it is also necessary to remember the strategic dynamics which may have been at play in the region, which continue to be deeply rooted in the security calculus of the regional countries. Offered the dual character of maritime infrastructure assignments, these are often viewed as a security task, particularly when such assignments involve China. A useful example may be the Chinese Belt Road Initiative (BRI), under which several port development assignments in the Indian Sea have attracted strategic issues. Doraleh (Djibouti), Gwadar (Pakistan) and Hambantota (Sri Lanka) have typically been labelled as Chinese naval outposts that facilitate operations by the Chinese Navy. It isn't surprising that Chinese assisted interface tasks in Bangladesh and Myanmar have already been a subject of concern for India. In the same way, China’s Kra Canal project-which involves creating a channel across south Thailand and will potentially reduce transport distances by at least 1,000 kilometres-possesses engendered security considerations in India.

As the tensions between economic opportunities and strategic concerns have been a feature of several of the Bay of Bengal maritime infrastructure ideas and projects, a new opportunity has emerged for Bangladesh to lead the regional Blue Economy. The idea of Wise Ports is resonating across the maritime community and according to specialists, only ‘good ports’ will survive where to play roulette online for free. Industry 4.0 technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Big Info, Autonomous Systems, etc are “up-scaling the efficiency of the maritime connectivity eco-system,” Among the important container ports with which Bangladesh conducts container trade, the Interface of Singapore is highly digitalised, and Sri Lanka’s Slot of Colombo has taken some initiatives in this direction. It'll be useful to explore Industry 4.0 technologies that can be the main MPDP operations.

Actually, these technologies have a major role to perform in the production of Blue Economy and will be crucial for marine spatial planning, including port development projects. Bangladesh has positioned Blue Market as high concern and the political leadership has given it the top position among the motorists for national expansion. The next phase should be to invest in Industry 4.0 technology that add to bettering efficiency and take added benefit to the MPDP and Blue Market in the Bay of Bengal.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress.com.bd

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