M Sakhawat Hossain, Advisor to the Ministry of Shipping and Labor and Employment, said that initiatives have been taken to raise the Bhairbe river port to international standards. He said this on Monday (November 11) when he visited the Bhairab-Meghna river port.
Mentioning the Bhairab river port of Kishoreganj as an old river port, the advisor said, the Bhairab river port is being modernized with the financing of 36 crore rupees by the World Bank. 3 international standard pontoons will be constructed here. There were some complications with the project. That has been resolved. It was approved yesterday. Today (Monday) maybe the work order will go. Work will start soon. He also said that preparations are underway to complete the work by December next year.
The shipping adviser said, 'This is a big project among the World Bank projects, which will be tendered internationally in a few days. The riverside shopkeepers will be compensated if they have proper ownership documents while working on the jetty here. Those who do not have papers will be considered.
Although there will be temporary difficulties for the people of Bhairab while doing the work, he requested everyone's cooperation and said that if the work is completed next year, the people of Bhairab will enjoy its benefits. This will improve the business and trade here, and the difficulty of loading and unloading of goods, loading and unloading of passengers will be removed. Apart from this, an international terminal will also be built at Ashuganj through an Indian contractor. The work of this terminal was tendered by the previous government. India-Bangladesh will jointly use the Ashuganj terminal wharf when it becomes operational after construction. The face of the river port will change after the completion of Bhairava's work on time. Bhairav residents will benefit.
He further said, 'Luckily, after signing Bhairav's work file at the ministry on Sunday (November 10), I came to Bhairav today and personally inspected the work place. This is because we want to finish the work quickly and on time. If the work is not completed on time, the project money will be taken back by the World Bank. So we don't want to lose job opportunities.'
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Chairman Commodore Arif Ahmed Mostafa, Project Director (PD) Ayub Ali and others were with him at that time.
