Transportation Sector Faces Tk 650 Crore Loss Amid Unrest

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has revised the cost of the Bay Terminal Marine Infrastructure Development Project to Tk13,525.27 crore—down from an initial estimate of Tk14,600 crore—following evaluation committee recommendations.

In FY24, Bangladesh's business competitiveness has declined due to rising costs in logistics (15–20% of production expenses vs. Vietnam’s 9–11%), energy (high reliance on imported LNG and furnace oil), and finance (lending rates above 13% compared to Vietnam’s 7–9% and India’s 8–10%).

Banglabandha land port, once a key trade hub connecting Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, is facing a severe downturn due to its reliance on Bhutanese stone imports. Daily truck arrivals have plummeted from 300–400 to just 60–70, leading to a revenue drop to Tk 91 crore in January.

The government anticipates a Tk 651.4 million World Bank (WB) fund to revitalize railway infrastructure, marking the first WB loan for the sector since 2006. The fund will support the Tk 935.1 million Green Railway Transport Preparatory Technical Assistance Project, which includes feasibility studies for multimodal hubs at Kamalapur and Dhaka Airport stations, rail links from Faujdarhat to Chattogram's Goods Port Yard and Bay Terminal, and connectivity to the Mirsharai Economic Zone.

The Dhaka-Tongi-Joydebpur railway expansion, initiated in July 2012, has achieved only 35% progress as of October despite a projected completion by June 2027. Over the past 13 months, progress stagnated at 1.5%, with officials citing delays in obtaining no-objection certification from Exim Bank of India, which funds Tk2,821.16 crore of the Tk3,343 crore project.

The cost of the 17.2 km MRT-5 (Southern Route) from Gabtoli to Dasherkandi has been slashed by Tk6,898 crore, reducing the project budget from Tk54,619 crore to Tk47,721 crore. This adjustment, led by the interim government's Planning Commission Adviser, follows a detailed review initiated after April 2024.