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Four Chinese state-owned firms are keen to build the planned metro rail network along with a ‘smart city’ on the land reclaimed from the sea in Chattogram and will fully fund the costs. The catch is that they want a share of the profits from the township in return.
Officials at the Chattogram Development Authority, or CDA, confirmed the expression of interest, saying China would pay for the cost of a feasibility study for the metro rail. The CDA will inform the government about the proposal through the housing and public works ministry for a final decision.
"A shoal area exists in the sea near the place designated for our bay terminal in Mirsarai. China has offered to build a township on the reclaimed land there," said Kazi Hasan Bin Shams, the CDA's chief engineer.
The Chinese companies want to take charge of the 'smart city' and share the profits with Bangladesh after selling the plots, he said.
"In exchange, they want to build the metro rail with their own funds. The government does not have to pay anything."
When asked if the project on reclaimed land would advsersely affect the environment, Kazi Hasan said the land is away from the shipbreaking yards in the area.
According to him, these days 'modern technology' is used in reclaiming land, and the Chinese companies are quite capable. The companies said they had a technology that will make the water look transparent.
“It's the 'dead end' of the sea. It'll have no adverse effect on the sea if the land is reclaimed there. Many countries, including Singapore, have built such townships on reclaimed land in the past two decades. The Chinese companies said they have prior experience in such work."
He is also happy with the pace at which Chinese companies are constructing the Karnaphuli tunnel and the Padma Bridge.
South Korea has also expressed an interest in constructing the second metro rail of Bangladesh.
Representatives of the Korea International Cooperation Agency or KOICA spoke of their willingness to conduct a feasibility study in a meeting with Bangladeshi officials, including Information Minister Hasan Mahmud, on Feb 8. South Korea wanted to donate $5 million for the study.
Now the government will decide which offer to accept, said Kazi Hasan. But, he added, the Chinese firms did not say how much profit they want from the ‘smart city’.
Earlier, China came up with a proposal to do a feasibility study for metro rail in Chattogram, and the authorities had asked them to fund it.
"Otherwise, it will be an additional spending for us if the project does not go ahead after the study."
The Chattogram City Corporation conducted a feasibility study in 2019 through a private firm, Basasthan Engineers and Consultants Limited, which recommended three rapid transit metro lines in the city, which would cost around Tk 860 billion.
But experts believe Chattogram metro rail may cost as much as Tk 1 trillion or even more. Businesses in Chattogram have been asking for a metro rail network including three to four routes connecting Mirsarai Economic Zone, industrial areas and the growth centres on the outskirts of the city.
The Chinese proposal did not outline a budget for the township.
Kazi Hasan declined to reveal the names of the four Chinese firms, but China Railway Construction Company Limited offered to do the feasibility study in a meeting with LGRD Minister Md Tazul Islam on Jan 13. A CDA official, requesting anonymity, said CRCCL is among the four Chinese companies that sent the latest proposal.
Comments from CRCCL were not immediately available.
In the future, Bangabandhu Industrial City, Karnaphuli tunnel, proposed economic zone on the other side of the tunnel and a deep-sea port and energy hub in Matarbari will be parts of bustling economic areas, which are expected to attract businesses and investors from across the globe.
Chattogram city desperately needs a metro rail system, agreed economist Dr Moinul Islam. But the government, he added, now needs to go through the proposals and decide which one to go with.
But he warned the government to be careful about making a decision about the Chinese offer to build a township.
"Chattogram definitely needs a mass rapid transit from Kalurghat to airport. I myself have been pushing for one for the last few years. But the government has to decide who will implement the project," said Dr Islam, a former president at Bangladesh Economic Association.
“China has built a Chinese city in Colombo, which turned out to be a big problem for Sri Lanka,” he said about the bay township proposal.
"The offer may seem lucrative, but it should be thoroughly examined," he went on, "accepting such a proposal without a prior scrutiny may cause trouble later on."
China offers to bankroll Chattogram metro rail, ‘smart city’. In return, it wants part of township profits
Four Chinese state-owned firms are keen to build the planned metro rail network along with a ‘smart city’ on the land reclaimed from the sea in Chattogram and will fully fund the costs. The catch is that they want a share of the profits from the township in return.
m.bdnews24.com
