Nagarbari port opens, offering a boost to farming, industry

With most of the required infrastructure established, operations have started in earnest at the Nagarbari port on the bank of the Jamuna river in Pabna's Bera upazila, making the transport of imported goods from Chattogram seaport to northern, northwestern and southern districts of the country easier, cheaper and faster.

According to the authorities, the ongoing modernisation of one of the oldest river ports in the country will be completed by June next year.

However, vessels already began to moor at the newly built 300-meter RCC jetty earlier this month to offload fertiliser, coal, clinker, stones, cement and food grains.

Businesses say the river port will play a crucial role in fertiliser supply to the northern districts, which meet much of the country's demand for vegetables

Businesses say the river port will play a crucial role in fertiliser supply to the northern districts, which meet much of the country's demand for vegetables. Besides, the port will also benefit industrial hubs in many northern districts like Bogura.

Nearly 80 percent of the port works, including the jetty, sheds and warehouse, have been completed so far, said Md Mohidul Islam, project director and chief engineer of the implementing agency, namely the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).

Upon the completion of the project, titled 'Establishment of Port Facility at Nagarbari', he said there will be mobile harbour cranes and forklifts to swiftly unload cargo.

Due to the lack of facilities at the Nagarbari port, businesses previously required more time and had to spend more to get imported consignments from Chittagong port.

"Previously, we had to unload goods at Nawapara port on the bank of the Bhairab river in Jashore," said Md Kazal Miah, a representative of Desh Trading Corporation.

The consignment would then be loaded onto trucks and transported to the north from the southwestern district.

Since the opening of the RCC jetty in Nagarbari, Kazal said five fertiliser-laden vessels had reached the port and three had been unloaded last week.

This was unimaginable a few years ago, when it took a minimum of five days to unload a vessel with 1000 to 1200 tonnes of fertiliser. Now it takes a maximum of three days, according to Md Nabi, a worker at the port.

"Carrying fertiliser and other goods to northern districts is easier through this port than other ports, so we prefer Nagarbari port," said Md Shahed Ali, a truck driver.

According to Kazal, the port altogether promises them "speed and comfort".

In 2018, the Ministry of Shipping launched the project at a cost of Tk 513.09 crore, targeting to finish the project work by June 2021.

However, a delayed start, slow progress of land acquisition and repeated extensions in the project duration have increased costs to Tk 563.84 crore and pushed the deadline to June 2025.

After the dredging work is completed, the channel to the Nagarbari port will remain navigable year-round, allowing loaded vessels to easily reach the port, said project director Islam.

According to the project details, the work includes the construction of the RCC jetty, riverbank revetment structure, connecting roads, RCC open storage, parking lot, international port road construction, and port offices.

There will also be warehouses and open shaded warehouses, a boundary wall, drainage facilities, water and sanitation facilities, mobile harbour cranes and forklifts, a fire extinguishing system and a power substation for the 11-KV line.

"Most of the construction work has progressed remarkably, so we expect to finish the project work on schedule," said Md Abdul Wakil, assistant director of BIWTA and in charge of Nagarbari port.

After completing the construction work, a minimum of 1.5 lakh tonnes of goods can be stored at the port, while thousands of tonnes can be easily delivered to different districts, Wakil said.

As warehouse construction has been completed, notices have already been issued for renting warehouses, he added.