The country’s gross domestic product will increase by one per cent and foreign trade by 20 per cent if inland water, rail and road transport between Dhaka and Chittagong can be upgraded to the global standard. This encouraging projection was made in a draft report presented at a stakeholders workshop at the Asian Development Bank on March 4. It was conducted under the ADBfunded technical assistance programme and was titled Improving the Efficiency of Transport Logistics in the Dhaka-Chittagong Corridor.

Although currently the bulk of freight traffic in the corridor is by road, transport by rail and waterway may be cheaper and more energy efficient, according to the report prepared by a US firm. However, it found that rail and road links between the port and Dhaka to be costly compared to international standards. Analysing transport and logistics systems in the corridor from the viewpoint of shippers, importers and exporters, the study observed that overall informal payments and other inefficiencies add up to 40 per cent to transport costs for imports, adversely impacting on international trade on a significant scale.

Its key recommendations include streamlining export-import documentation and procedures, improving port operations, establishment of more inland container depots in Dhaka by the private sector, building four lanes in the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, double-tracking of the existing single railway line, and improving railway management. The participants attached great importance to encouraging the private sector to increase the capacity of inland container depots and related infrastructure in both ends of the corridor.

Stakeholders suggested that a policy decision is needed to move all the container handling activities, other than loading and unloading vessels, outside the port and to complete the information link between port authorities and shippers and freight forwarders.