Haque Specialized Group's News

The government is set to approve more Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and Inland Container Terminals (ICTs) in the private sector to help ease acute congestion at the Chittagong port, officials said. The ICDs facilitate quick clearance of FCL (full container load) cargo by allowing un-stuffing and delivery from outside the port area. The private sector ICTs, mainly located close to Dhaka, help carry goods to seaports through waterways, reducing pressure on highways. Currently, some 17 private ICDs are situated near Chittagong port. These facilities store selected low-risk imported items and empty containers, conduct customs clearance formalities. They are also allowed to un-stuff and deliver some 37 items. "Due to increased container jam each year, the Chittagong port area now lacks space to accommodate imported containers resulting in congestion in the port and vessels need additional time in the outer channel," Omar Faruk, secretary of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), wrote in a recent letter to the ministry of shipping (MoS). "To help deal with the present congestion in Chittagong port, at least seven or eight more private ICDs are needed," he wrote. Contacted over telephone, Mr Faruk told the FE an application by AK Khan Company Ltd to set up an ICD within seven kilometres of Chittagong port area is under the scrutiny of the MoS. Officials said to avoid congestion in port yard presently, no goods stuffing and un-stuffing are allowed inside the port area. Exporters and importers do these in the private ICDs located near the port. Mr Alamgir Hossain, who imports electronics goods from China, told the FE that due to small number of ICDs compared to increased volume of export-import trade, vehicles need to wait for days outside the depots for loading and unloading of goods. The delay results in rise in costs of doing business that again lowers competitiveness, he said. In 2016, the government prepared Inland Container Depot/ Container Freight Station Policy to facilitate capacity and productivity rise in ports, door-to-door delivery of container service, and ease congestion inside the Chittagong port. Meanwhile, the government is also encouraging to set up the ICTs in private sector so that goods can be easily transported to seaports through waterways avoiding congestion on highways.   Officials said last week, the MoS gave approval for the construction of an ICT by Meghna Group on 15 acres of land in Sonargaon upazila under Narayanganj district. An ICT, constructed by Summit Alliance Port Limited (SAPL), has already started functioning. Rupayan Group has completed construction of another ICT which will start carrying goods through waterways soon. The state-owned ICT in Pangaon, inaugurated in 2013, is now also carrying containers to and from Chittagong and Dhaka at comparatively low cost. "Sending containers through waterways to the seaports is both cost-effective and less time-consuming," manager of Pangaon ICT Ahmedul Karim Chowdhury told the FE. He said the carrying cost of a twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU) of container to Chittagong from Dhaka is US$99 while by road it may cost between $200 and $300. Mr Chowdhury said apparently it seems carrying containers by road is less time-consuming as it takes 10 to 16 hours for reaching an off-dock of Chittagong port. But, sending the containers to the port yard from off-docks take several hours. On the other hand, sending containers from Pangaon ICT in Dhaka directly to Chittagong port yards takes only 16 to 24 hours to be loaded into feeder vessel directly without taking any more time. This is comparatively hassle-free, he pointed out.      Chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Mozammel Haque told the FE the government is now encouraging private sector investment in ICTs to avoid congestion on highways in carrying goods. "We now encourage shippers to use waterways in goods transportation. Rivers are being dredged regularly for smooth plying of vessels," he said. syful-islam@outlook.com....

Published at: 2017-08-12 05:00:03

A tripartite committee formed to amend the Labour Act 2006 for protecting the rights of the country's workers will submit its preliminary draft in the current month while the final report in November. Joint Secretary of Labour and Employment Ministry and member-secretary of the committee Aminul Islam said the tripartite committee has so far held three meetings and will submit the preliminary draft in the current month. He said the rules of the Labour Act 2006 were finalised in 2015 and the law was amended thrice in 2009, 2010 and 2013. An initiative has been taken to modernise the law as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) asks for making it labour-friendly, he added. A three-day meeting of the tripartite committee is going on from Thursday at BRAC Center in Gazipur which will conclude today (Saturday), he said.—BSS....

Published at: 2017-08-12 05:00:03

The government is ready with a draft agreement for forming Special Purpose Company (SPC) with a foreign firm for carving out Payra deep-sea port channel. Under the deal, officials said, the Payra Port Authority (PPA) will hold majority shares in the proposed joint-venture company. The draft agreement, now being reviewed by the Ministry of Shipping, stipulates that the paid-up capital of the Special Purpose Company will be Tk 5.0 million. "As per the agreement, PPA will hold 51 per cent shares of the proposed JVC while Belgian company Jan De Nul (JDN) will hold 49 per cent shares," a Shipping Ministry high official told FE. The deal in the offing also provides that JDN will be responsible for the initial funding of the dredging scheme while the PPA will be required to obtain sovereign guarantee from the Government of Bangladesh. Apart from initial funding, JDN will be responsible for providing operational guarantee for the dredging-related works, officials informed. On the other hand, the PPA will be responsible for demonstrating and warranting sufficient income flows and resources of the proposed SPC to export-credit agencies, banks and other financial institutions. Shipping Ministry officials said they were now aiming to form the long-awaited SPC by the end of next month after the agreement is reviewed and finalized. "The draft agreement is now being reviewed by the ministry and our target is to complete all the formalities by next month," the MoS high official told FE. The draft agreement also provides for the formation of a five- member Board of Directors for overseeing the operations of the company-three of whom will come from PPA while two from JDN. The SPC board will be chaired by a director of the PPA during the first year of its existence. However, the chairmanship will be altered between JDN and PPA subsequently, the agreement says. The board will also be responsible for, among other things, making necessary arrangements for any required additional financing of phase 3 and 4 of the dredging scheme. The draft agreement has also specified that both the partiers to the JVC will be able to share their transfers only after the lock-in period of 5 years is over. Situated on the bank of Andharmanik River of Patuakhali, the Payra port was formally inaugurated in 2013. Limited-scale operations started at the port in August last year. The port is expected to be developed in phases by 2023. According to experts, around 14.5-metre draft is required to turn Payra into a true deep-sea port. In this context, the Payra Port Authority signed a MoU with the Belgian company, Jan De Nul, last year to conduct capital and maintenance dredging.   The two parties at that time also agreed to set up this proposed joint-venture company, the tenure of which is expected to be 25 years. mehdi.finexpress@gmail.com....

Published at: 2017-08-12 05:00:03

Talha Bin Habib The rural development and cooperatives division has sought an additional Tk 7.50 billion for 'one house one firm' project in the current fiscal despite its poor performance, officials said.    The project, known as Ektee Bari Ektee Khamar, failed to achieve its targets set for the FY 2016-17. The project roped in fewer beneficiaries and deputation of some project manpower to Palli Sanchay Bank. However, project officials have blamed the shortage of manpower, lack of coordination and flash floods in some areas of the country for the poor performance. Meanwhile, the government in the annual development progamme (ADP) allocated Tk 7.72 billion to implement the project during the FY 2017-18.   The project now aims to form 25,000-30,000 gram unnayan samity (village development association) and select 1.5 to 1.8 million beneficiaries during the current fiscal. Most of the projects in our country cannot utilise what is allocated in a financial year, said former finance adviser Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam. "If the project could not utilise its financial allocation in the current fiscal year budget by November or December, then additional allocation should not be granted or disbursed," he told the FE.    He, however, suggested a joint effort and strong monitoring to make sure that project meets the targets.    At present, there are only 5,511 employees against the authorised number of 11,627 for the project.   The project was set to implement between 2009 and 2016 to alleviate poverty in the country. And during the period, some 40,216 associations were formed. The targets set in the development project profile of the project (third revised) will be challenging to meet as it will require forming 60,000 associations between 2017 and 2020.     "There will be a meeting on August 16 at the Prime Minister's Office on the issue.  We hope to get an additional allocation to reach the target of the project," project director of Ektee Bari Ektee Khamar Akber Hossain told the FE. He said that the project provided income-generating training to 119,250 people.   "We are taking steps to ensure coordinated efforts among the field level officials, especially upazila nirbahi officers to help reach the targets of the project," a high official of the ministry of local government, rural development and cooperatives told the FE. talhabinhabib@yahoo.com....

Published at: 2017-08-12 05:00:03

President Donald Trump issued a new threat to North Korea on Friday, saying the US military was "locked and loaded" as Pyongyang accused him of driving the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war and world powers expressed alarm. The Pentagon said the United States and South Korea would proceed as planned with a joint military exercise in 10 days, an action sure to further antagonise North Korea. China, Russia and Germany voiced dismay at the war of words between Pyongyang and Washington. Trump, who has pressed China to help rein in its ally North Korea, said he would speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday night. Trump, vacationing at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf resort, again referred to North Korea's leader in his latest bellicose remarks. "Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely," he wrote on Twitter. "Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!" The term "locked and loaded," popularised in the 1949 war film "Sands of Iwo Jima" starring American actor John Wayne, refers to preparations for shooting a gun. Asked later by reporters to explain the remark, Trump said: "Those words are very, very easy to understand." Again referring to Kim, Trump added, "If he utters one threat ... or if he does anything with respect to Guam or any place else that's an American territory or an American ally, he will truly regret it, and he will regret it fast." In remarks to reporters after a meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Trump said the situation with North Korea was "very dangerous and it will not continue." "We will see what happens. We think that lots of good things could happen, and we could also have a bad solution," he said. Despite the tough rhetoric, Trump insisted that "nobody loves a peaceful solution better than President Trump." Trump said he thought US allies South Korea and Japan were "very happy" with how he was handling the confrontation. The president, a wealthy businessman and former reality television personality, sent his tweet after North Korean state news agency, KCNA, said in a statement that "Trump is driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war." Guam, the Pacific island that is a US territory, posted emergency guidelines on Friday to help residents prepare for any potential nuclear attack after a threat from North Korea to fire missiles in its vicinity. Guam is home to a US air base, a Navy installation, a Coast Guard group and roughly 6,000 US military personnel. KCNA said on Thursday the North Korean army would complete plans in mid-August to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land in the sea 18 to 25 miles (30-40 km) from Guam. Trump called the governor of Guam, Eddie Baza Calvo. "We are with you a thousand per cent. You are safe," Trump told Calvo, who posted a video of him speaking with the president on Facebook. Washington wants to stop Pyongyang from developing nuclear missiles that could hit the United States. North Korea sees its nuclear arsenal as protection against the United States and its partners in Asia. Trump said he was considering additional sanctions on North Korea, adding that they would be "very strong." He gave no details and did not make clear whether he meant unilateral or multilateral sanctions. US officials have said new US steps that would target Chinese banks and firms doing business with Pyongyang are in the works, but these have appeared to be put on hold to give Beijing time to show it is serious about enforcing new UN sanctions. 'OVER THE TOP' Trump said he did not want to talk about diplomatic "back channels" with North Korea after US media reports that Joseph Yun, the US envoy for North Korea policy, has engaged in diplomacy for several months with Pak Song Il, a senior diplomat at Pyongyang's UN mission, on the deteriorating relations and the issue of Americans imprisoned in North Korea. But Daniel Russel, the former top US diplomat for East Asia until April, said this so-called New York channel had been a relatively commonplace means of communication with North Korea over the years, and it was not a forum for negotiation. "It's never been a vehicle for negotiations and this doesn’t constitute substantive US-DPRK dialogue," he said, using the acronym for North Korea's formal name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged Pyongyang and Washington to sign up to a previously unveiled joint Russian-Chinese plan under which North Korea would freeze missile tests and the United States and South Korea would impose a moratorium on large-scale military exercises. Neither the United States nor North Korea has embraced the plan. Lavrov said the risks of a military conflict over North Korea's nuclear program are very high and Moscow is deeply worried by the threats from both sides. "Unfortunately, the rhetoric in Washington and Pyongyang is now starting to go over the top," Lavrov said on live state television at a forum for Russian students. "We still hope and believe that common sense will prevail." The annual joint US-South Korean military exercise, called Ulchi-Freedom Guardian, is expected to proceed as scheduled starting on Aug 21, said Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Logan, a Pentagon spokesman. Trump's latest comments were a continuation of days of incendiary rhetoric, including his warning on Tuesday that the United States would unleash "fire and fury" on Pyongyang if it threatened the United States. Amid the heated words, South Koreans are buying more ready-to-eat meals that could be used in an emergency and the government is going to expand nationwide civil defense drills planned for Aug 23. Hundreds of thousands of troops and huge arsenals are arrayed on both sides of the tense demilitarised zone between the two Koreas. TRUMP RESPONDS TO MERKEL Tension in the region rose when North Korea staged two nuclear bomb tests last year and increased further when it launched two intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests in July in defiance of world powers. The United Nations this month tightened sanctions on Pyongyang after it tested two ICBMs designed to carry nuclear warheads to the United States. The damage inflicted on world stocks this week by the tensions topped $1 trillion by Friday, as investors again took cover in the yen, the Swiss franc, gold and government bonds. US financial markets took the increased rhetoric in stride. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.07 per cent while the S&P 500 gained 0.13 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite firmed 0.64 per cent. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said there is no military solution, adding that "an escalation of the rhetoric is the wrong answer." "I see the need for enduring work at the UN Security Council ... as well as tight cooperation between the countries involved, especially the US and China," Merkel told reporters in Berlin. Trump said hours later, "Let her speak for Germany." China, North Korea's most important trading partner, hopes all sides can do more to help ease the crisis and increase mutual trust, rather than taking turns in shows of strength, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. On Thursday, Trump reiterated complaints about the US trade imbalance with China and said he would feel "differently" about the trade issue if China helped more on North Korea.   ....

Published at: 2017-08-12 05:00:03