Initial closure of unprofitable and inactive land ports suggested

Hili level crossing near the Hili land port

Dhaka, February 10: It has been recommended to declare six unprofitable and inactive land ports of the Bangladesh Land Ports Authority under the Ministry of Shipping to be closed initially. The committee formed by the ministry to verify the effectiveness/ineffectiveness of eight land ports of the Bangladesh Land Ports Authority made this recommendation.

In a meeting held at the meeting room of the Ministry of Shipping today, the committee conducted on-site inspections of the designated land ports and, in consultation with the relevant stakeholders, presented its observations and recommendations to the Shipping and Labor and Employment Advisor Brigadier General (Retd) Dr. M Sakhawat Hossain.

At the meeting, the Shipping Advisor said that various unnecessary facilities were built during the previous government's tenure, which did not bring any benefit to the state.

Moreover, state money has been wasted. Two land ports have also been constructed at a relatively short distance in an upazila. He further said that all land ports that will be beneficial for the development of the people of the country will be kept operational.

The land ports initially recommended for closure/inactivity in the committee's observation are - Chilahati land port in Nilphamari, Daulatganj land port in Chuadanga, Tegamug land port in Rangamati, Biral land port in Dinajpur, Karaitali land port in Mymensingh and Balla land port in Habiganj. Since these land ports do not have economic activities and are not profitable for the state, it has been recommended to close the activities. In addition, no suitable facilities have been developed in the Indian part of these land ports. However, since various facilities/infrastructure and communication systems have been developed for land ports in the Bangladesh part, a decision was taken to further examine the said ports.

The meeting was attended by senior secretary of the Ministry of Shipping Mohammad Yusuf and other committee members. – PID Handout