Chittagong port is in the hands of foreign operators No plans to give: Minister in Parliament

Photo Collected

A+ A A-

Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam said that there is no plan to hand over the Chittagong Port to any foreign operator. Operators are appointed only for the purpose of operating the terminal of the port in cases issued or approved by the Public Partnership Authority or the Government. In this case, both domestic and foreign operators can be considered.

The Minister of Shipping said this in response to the question of BNP Member of Parliament Shahadat Hossain in the National Parliament on Wednesday.

The Minister of Shipping said that at present various terminals of the port are being managed by domestic and foreign operators with the aim of increasing the capacity of the port in keeping with the modernization of the port and the continuous progress of the country’s import-export trade. For example, Patenga Container Terminal is being operated by a foreign operator. An agreement has been signed with APM Terminals BV, a subsidiary of Marks Group of Denmark, for the construction and management of Laldia Container Terminal at Laldia Char on the right bank of Karnaphuli River.

In response to the question of NCP member of parliament Abul Hasnat (Hasnat Abdullah), Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam said that according to the updated list, there are a total of 21 thousand 982 illegal occupiers of rivers and streams across the country. All District Commissioners have been requested to publish the said list on the website and send the action plan for the eviction of illegal encroachers from the rivers.

In response to the question of BNP Member of Parliament ABM Mosharraf Hossain, the Minister of Shipping said that the construction of a 1,180-meter long bridge of 4 lanes and 6-lane terminal connecting road over the Andharmanik river to connect the Dhaka-Kuakata road from the jetty of the port to fully operationalize the Payra seaport, which will be completed by December this year. Once these works are completed, the port is expected to be fully operational by the beginning of next year.

He said that if the project of ‘maintenance dredging of Ravanabad channel and purchase of 2 hopper dredgers’ is approved, all types of ships will be able to come to Payra port by 2027-28.

In response to Hasnat Abdullah’s question, Minister of Religion Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hussain Kaykobad said, if the quality of Qaumi Madrasa students’ certificates are redefined by the Ministry of Education and the government, such as Dakhil, Alim, Fazil and Kamil, considering the quality of Alia Madrasah students’ certificates; In other words, if the notification is issued considering the quality of Qaumi Madrasa students as equivalent, then it will be possible to create government jobs and employment opportunities for them.

Jashore Lawmaker Facing Protests After Altercation at Local Madrasa

Read More

In response to the question of opposition party member Sheikh Manjurul Haque Rahad, the religion minister said that the government is paying the electricity bill of up to 100 units in favor of each model mosque. The excess electricity bill is paid by accepting donations at the initiative of the mosque committee.

In response to the question of Rafiqul Islam Hilali, a member of the government party, the Minister of Religion said that according to preliminary calculations, monthly allowances are being paid to about 14,724 imams, muezzins and khadems of 4,908 mosques in 4,578 unions and 330 municipalities in the country.

In response to the question of BNP member of parliament Mohammad Enamul Haque, Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain said, Tuberculosis is one of the most serious public health problems for Bangladesh. According to the World Health Organization, Bangladesh has one of the highest number of tuberculosis patients. Ever since the World Health Organization declared tuberculosis a global health emergency in 1993, the government of Bangladesh has been working tirelessly to control the outbreak of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis infection increases due to various factors including poverty, malnutrition, smoking, diabetes, mellitus, over population density and lack of awareness.

The Health Minister said that measures have been taken to increase government funding in addition to donations from donor agencies Global Fund to ensure the necessary medicines and diagnostic equipment for the detection of tuberculosis treatment. For this purpose, the process of approving the development project of Tk 3 thousand 142 crores is ongoing.

In response to the question of government party member Lutfur Rahman, the health minister said that currently there are 37 government medical colleges in 34 districts of the country. There are no government medical colleges in the remaining 30 districts.

In response to Hasnat Abdullah’s question, Culture Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury said that Tk 50 crore has not been allocated to the July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum for the creation of archives of the July Mass Uprising and the related activities have not been undertaken. However, 19 documentaries were made following government procurement rules from the budget allocated for documentary production for the July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum. 5 crore 23 lakh 723 rupees have been spent on this work.