sabrang tourism park master plan

SABRANG & NAF TOURISM PARK

CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO PREPARE A DETAILED MASTER PLAN FOR SABRANG & NAF TOURISM PARK [Proposal Package No: PS05-BEZA-2017].   Cox's...

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CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO PREPARE A DETAILED MASTER PLAN FOR SABRANG & NAF TOURISM PARK [Proposal Package No: PS05-BEZA-2017].

Cox's Bazar has been known for a popular tourist destination in Bangladesh for decades. In the regions adjacent to Cox's Bazar, tourist attractions as the Sahangu-Matamuhuri Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachari National Park, Teknaf Game Reserve as well as St. Matin's Island are located in accessible distance. As Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) is presently undertaking the development of the Jaliardwip EZ in conjunction with the development of the Sabrang Tourism Park, it will ultimately form an excellent tourism corridor as it introduces an integrated route of various tourist attractions-wildlife, beach trekking, eco-tour and much more.

- Review background materials and meet relevant stakeholders; - Preparation of Existing Land boundaries and Topography; - Existing conditions- Land use, moveable and Immoveable property and infrastructure and utilities; - Preparation of social and socio-economic survey and an assessment/validation of the existing environmental conditions on the Sabrang & Naf Tourism Park site and area of influence; - Review, validation or adjustment of the development program; - Preparation of Tourist and transport assessment; - Preparation of Detailed Master Plan and Infrastructure Plan; - Preparation of Management Strategy and Promotion; - Preparation of separate digital video animation.

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Dhaka prepares master plan to revive tourism industry.

DHAKA, Bangladesh - The government in Bangladesh has announced a TK1,000 crore incentive package for the tourism industry to help it recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal announced the measure while reading out the proposals for the fiscal year 2022-2023 in parliament.

According to Karnal, the government has taken steps to establish Sabrang Tourism Park, Naf Tourism Park, and Sonadia Eco-Tourism Park in Cox's Bazar, with accommodation and recreational facilities that meet international standards.

"The task of developing a tourism master plan for the tourism industry has been assigned," Kamal said.

"To achieve economic prosperity through tourism development and growth, steps are being taken to develop physical infrastructure and beautify tourist areas in various districts and upazilas by branding 36 districts with tourism potential," he added.

Khalid Umar Malik 11th June 2022, 04:48 GMT+10

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Blue Tourism: Exploring Untapped Potentials to underpin a Sustainable Blue Economy in Bangladesh

Exploring the Vast Blue: Unlocking Sustainable Growth through Blue Tourism in Bangladesh

June 30, 2023

Blue Gems of Bangladesh: Unveiling the Enchanting Beauty of Saint Martin's Island in Blue Tourism

By Dr. Ramiz Uddin , Head of Experimentation, UNDP Accelerator Lab, Bangladesh And Mohammad Saiful Hassan (Deputy Secretary), Deputy Director (Research and Planning), Bangladesh Tourism Board, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism – Bangladesh.

Blue tourism, widely referred to as Coastal or Maritime tourism, is a distinct idea from traditional tourism, which capitalizes on a country's ocean, sea, or coastal region. Coastal tourism is the largest market segment in the world, accounting for 5% of GDP and contributing 6-7% of total employment.  Furthermore, coastal and maritime tourism will employ 1.5 million additional people worldwide by 2030. 

Though Blue Tourism is not a new concept, but off late Bangladesh has been realizing its importance as it can help earning a lot of foreign exchange contribute to its GDP and accelerate the pace of achieving SDGs by 2030.

Blue Tourism: A Potential Blue Economy Avenue for Bangladesh

According to Asian Development Bank (ADB), coastal and maritime tourism has immense potential in the blue economy and could become one of the largest sources of tourism revenue in Bangladesh. Ocean contributed $6.2 billion in 2015 in total value addition to the Bangladesh's economy which implies 3 percent of GDP (Business Standard 2020). 

Among different sectors of the Blue Economy, Blue Tourism is the most potential sector.

Figure: Why blue tourism shall be nurtured

Potentials of Blue Tourism in Bangladesh

Maritime area of 207K sq. km, with 580 km of coastline, 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone, and 12 nautical mile territorial zones creates unprecedent opportunities for Bangladesh to accelerate the growth of blue economy. 

Icing on the top are the 75 large and small islands in the coastal and maritime zone of Bangladesh, which are regarded as touristy sites for their rich biodiversity. Coral reefs, seagrass reefs, sandy beaches, sandbars, marshes, flood basins, estuaries, peninsulas, mangroves etc. are a few examples of the aquatic life. Currently these zones are endowed with 17 fish sanctuaries, 5 national parks, and 10 wildlife sanctuaries, all of which can spur the tourism sector's expansion. As a result of the discovery of numerous new sea beaches, the sector continues to expand and diversify.

Deer sanctuary at Nijhum Dwip – the island of tranquility

Policies and interventions introduced to nurture the potential

The government of Bangladesh along with the vibrant private sector have introduced various initiatives to develop and promote blue tourism in Bangladesh.

Since 2015 the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has been working to unleash the potentials of Blue-Economy. To ensure rapid implementation Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has highlighted major action points in the seventh five-year plan (7FYP) and eighth five -year plan (8FYP) of Bangladesh. Additionally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), GoB, had formed the "Blue Economy Cell" in 2017 to coordinate the running blue economy related projects across sectoral ministries and departments. The government of Bangladesh has also laid emphasis on the BLUE tourism in different development plans including Perspective Plan-2041, and Delta Plan-2100. 

In order to exploit the tourism potential, Sea cruises between Bangladesh and India have already been launched in March 2019. To encourage foreign visitors to Cox's Bazar's largest sea beach, the Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) has been establishing three exclusive tourism parks there. These parks include Naf Tourism Park, Sabrang Tourism Park, and Sonadia Eco-Tourism Park. 

Bangladesh Tourism Board has formulated a Tourism Master Plan for 25 years (2023-2047) for the country. Primarily a total of 255 tourist sites under 11 tourist clusters have been identified. These tourist sites are potential for Eco-Tourism, Beach & Island Tourism, Pilgrimage/Spiritual Tourism, Archaeological & Historical Tourism, Riverine Tourism, Adventure and Sports Tourism, Rural Tourism, Ethno-tourism, MICE Tourism and Cruise Tourism in this coastal and maritime region. The tourism master plan includes 200+ potential interventions overall. The Bangladesh Tourism Master Plan calls for the immediate development of 13 islands altogether in the coastal region.

Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) and UNDP Accelerator Lab Bangladesh’s Joint Initiative:

In the last quarter of 2022, Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) in collaboration with UNDP Accelerator Lab has conducted research on Blue Tourism in Bangladesh, especially in the coastal regions. The core objectives of the joint research comprise identifying the coastal and maritime tourism resources, facilities, and tourist activities in Bangladesh, mapping tourist minds, and identifying the sustainability of Blue Tourism in Bangladesh.

Figure: Mapping Tourist Mind survey research findings

However, with the technical assistance of UNDP Bangladesh Accelerator Lab, Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) has begun to work on the execution of Bangladesh's Tourism Master Plan. 

Figure: Planned innovations for tourism master plan implementation

How to unleash the potential? It is clear from the research and experts’ opinion that Bangladesh has a huge potential for blue tourism. Despite having ample resources for leveraging the advantages of blue tourism, the nation drags its feet in taking advantage of this incredibly promising prospect. Due to a variety of problems, including the improper implementation of the tourism development master plan, the nation has been unable to benefit from this distinctive sector.

sector. Figure: Recommendations for unleashing the untapped potential of blue tourism

Discover the Jewel of Blue Tourism: Saint Martin's Island - Where Beauty Meets Serenity

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Sabrang Park likely to be ready by this year

Four cos get nod so far to invest $115m in the sez.

Saif Uddin | March 23, 2020 00:00:00

Sabrang Tourism Park, the country's first tourism-based special economic zone (SEZ), is expected to start welcoming visitors within this year, as construction of its key facilities is going on in full swing, officials said.

"Construction of protection embankment, boundary wall and administration building in the SEZ is now at the final stage," Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) Paban Chowdhury said.

The authority has developed its land, whereas a number of local and foreign businesses have got approval from the BEZA for developing hotels, resorts and other required structures in the SEZ, he also said.

Over 100 acres of land have already been allocated to some investors. Within next winter, some of the accommodation facilities, like - cottage, will be finalised to welcome guests initially.

The BEZA chief also said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the tourism park's master plan last month.

"She gave us green signal to establish some large structures, including a watch tower that could be as high as 300 feet."

A 1.8-kilometre-long jetty for sea cruise will also be constructed in the park.

The park, after becoming fully operational, will be a complete tourism destination for people of all ages, he opined.

Mr Chowdhury expressed hope that the ongoing coronavirus outbreak will not affect its development work, as the work is not so labour intensive.

"The crisis (outbreak) is temporary, but the development work is permanent," he added.

According to data available with the BEZA, the tourism park, spreading over 1,047 acres of land in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar, is one of the three tourism SEZs, being developed by the authority.

The other tourism SEZs are Sonadia Eco-Tourism Park and Naf Tourism Park.

For Sabrang Tourism Park, four companies got approval to invest more than US$115 million for establishing different facilities, which will generate employment for over 7,000 people.

Besides, many investors are about to finalise their deals to join them.

Singapore-based Inter-Asia Group will invest over $90 million in the next few years to establish facilities like cultural centre, open air amphitheatre, amusement park, pool villas, swimming pool and beach club on 83 acres of land there.

The investment deal finalised so far is expected to create more than 6,000 employments.

A company called Moonlight Overseas will construct a hotel on one acre of land in the park at a cost of $7.8 million, creating job for 936 people.

Besides, two other ventures are preparing to invest for establishing hotels in the SEZ.

St. Martin Island is half an hour sea cruise distance from Sabrang, located with exclusive beach front.

According to the master plan, Sabrang Tourism Park will become a connecting point of other tourism attractions in Cox's Bazar and the neighbouring areas.

It will give preference to preserve biodiversity, and promote local culture and tradition. Conservation of sea shore, existing Jhau garden, and water bodies will be ensured at the tourism site.

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Sabrang tourism plan to introduces exclusive foreigner zone.

• Published On December 31, 2023

Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza) is spearheading an initiative to establish a 100-acre exclusive zone for foreigners within the upcoming Sabrang Tourism Park on Teknaf’s coast in Cox’s Bazar. The proposal, currently with the Prime Minister’s Office, aims to attract foreign investment, with Inter-Asia Pte Ltd expressing interest in logistics support.

The 940-acre Sabrang Park, part of Beza’s broader tourism development plan, is set to become a premier tourist destination. With allotted land and proposed investments totaling $413 million from companies, including Dutch and Singaporean, the park will feature a 5-star hotel, marine aquarium, and various attractions. A cable car, expressway, and airport enhancements aim to bolster tourism infrastructure and boost Cox’s Bazar’s appeal for both domestic and international visitors. Tour operators stress the need for timely project completion to compete globally.

Source for more details:

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Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza) is spearheading an initiative to establish a 100-acre exclusive zone for foreigners within the upcoming Sabrang Tourism Park on Teknaf's coast in Cox's Bazar. The proposal, currently with the Prime Minister's Office, aims to attract foreign investment, with Inter-Asia Pte Ltd expressing interest in logistics support.

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World Tourism Day: Master plan to explore potential tourist spots in the offing

The Dhaka University Tourist Society, and Tourism Student Association have arranged weeklong programmes of different flavours to celebrate the day, while different hotels, and motels announced various offers

Despite the possibilities, due to lack of a proper development plan, and promotion, many potential tourist spots in Bangladesh   remain untapped.

While local tourists and travel groups continue to explore such places in the hills, forests, and lesser known sites of the country, there is little government initiative to promote such spots.

Against this backdrop, Bangladesh, alongside other countries around the globe, will celebrate World Tourism Day on Friday with a theme of "Tourism and Jobs: A Better Future for All."

Officials at the Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB), and Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry said, even though Bangladesh is a land of diversified cultures, and natural beauty suited to tourism, red-tapism and the absence of a master plan has not allowed this sector to flourish to its fullest potential.

Sakia Haque, founder of Travelers of Bangladesh (TOB), the largest online tourist platform in the country, which has over one million members, told Dhaka Tribune that though there are hundreds of spots in Bangladesh which can become great tourist destinations, little information is available to tourists regarding these sites.

“Due to lack of information and promotion, tourist destinations in Bangladesh are failing to attract visitors,” she added.

However, countering this statement, BTB CEO Bhubon Chandra Biswas said: "We require authorization from at least 21 ministries to take any steps regarding tourism, which creates delay in taking necessary initiatives for any potential sites, for it to get explored by tourists." 

A master plan to unlock possibilities

Bangladesh Tourism Board was formed in 2010 to develop the country's tourism sector, and increase its contribution to the economy, however it has failed to put together a master plan in the last nine years to advance the sector by attracting foreign tourists.

However, a process has finally begun to develop a master plan so that the country's tourism sector gets the forward push that it needs.

Meanwhile, short, medium, and long term planning has been made for exploring the full potential of Bangladesh’s untapped tourism sector, said State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary M Mohibul Haque said, a global consultant firm will receive the work order to formulate the master plan by October 7.

Separate exclusive tourism plans targeting Sundarbans, Cox’s Bazar, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) will be made too, he added.

What does the future hold?

The major aim of the master plan will be to develop the tourism sector as a whole, and promotion thereof.

There will be an exclusive tourism zone, solely for foreign tourists in Sabrang upazila in Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar,  the longest unbroken sandy beach, with all the modern day facilities.

Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority is already developing Sabrang Tourism Park - first ever seafront tourism park in Bangladesh - encompassing an area of 1027 acres. It is also developing a project tilted Naf Tourism Park, and Sonadia Eco Tourism Park - both in Cox’s Bazar.

Responding to a query, BTB secretary Biswas said that setting up casinos for foreigners depends on demand, and the country's law, adding that they have plans to set up a river cruise service for Dhaka dwellers, where six rivers around the capital - Buriganga, Turag, Balu, Shitalakkhya, Dhaleshwari, and Bangshi- will be connected together.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary M Mohibul Haque said they are introducing Advance Passenger Information System Software by June 2020 to get the exact statistics on foreign tourists travelling to Bangladesh.

"The law of the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation will be updated, while there will be laws for tour operators, and tour guides to move the sector forward.

"For skilled workforce in the sector, National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute will be modernized, where five-year courses on tourism will be offered," he added.

BTB chief Biswas requested the private sector to work more actively, and collaborate with the government to develop the sector.

Bangladesh Tourism in Global Ranking

Bangladesh is the 120th nation among 140 countries in the world as a tourist friendly country, according to “Travel and Tourism Competitive Report-2019” by the World Economic Forum. 

It was in the 125th position a year ago.

However the situation is not much appreciated as only Pakistan, with the position of 121th is below Bangladesh in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) nations. India ranked 34, Sri Lanka ranked 77, and Nepal 102 in the report.

In 2018, Lonely Planet – the world's largest travel guide book publisher – showcased Bangladesh as the best-in-value travel destination for 2019, ranking it at 7th in their list of the top 10 places for affordable adventures.

Events for today

The government and different organizations have chalked out weeklong programs in all districts to celebrate the day.

There will be mass awareness on the significance of tourism across all 64 districts, and there will be seminars to mark the day, said civil aviation and tourism ministry officials.

The day’s program will begin with a colourful cycle rally at 8:30am from Manik Mia Avenue to International Mother Language Institute via Farmgate, Kawranbazar, Hatirjheel, and Moghbazar, reports BSS.

The BTB and BPC will jointly hold a seminar on this year’s theme at 10am at International Mother Language Institute auditorium.

The Parjatan Bichitra, a travel magazine, will organize a three-day tourism fair styled “7th Asian Tourism Fair” that will beginon firday, and continue till tomorrow at Bashundhara Convention Centre in Dhaka with the participation of 150 different tourism service providing organisations from eight countries.

The Dhaka University Tourist Society, and Tourism Student Association have arranged weeklong programmes of different flavours to celebrate the day, while different hotels, and motels announced various offers.

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Cox’s Bazar: An economic game-changer in the making

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The work of a mega plan to develop the coastal slope by the Bay of Bengal like a Singapore or Hong Kong city is going on in full swing despite the nationwide strict lockdown

When the entire nation is placed under strict stay-at-home order, machines keep whirring round the clock at least 77 project sites in Bangladesh's south-eastern district Cox's Bazar under a mega plan to develop the coastal slope by the Bay of Bengal like a Singapore or Hong Kong city.

The investments are also hefty – more than Tk3 lakh crore, which is equal to 1.5 times of an annual development programme, has been allocated in a single fiscal year.

The plan aims at a massive change to the landscape of the district that now only supplies salt, rubber and fish, making it a hub for tourism, trade and connectivity, better coupling the South Asian region to the Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia and the Philippines.

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Viewed from the air, the Cox's Bazar international airport – its modernisation now near completion – will look like an oyster shell and its runway will stick right out into the blue sea waters, making a flight take-off even more exciting.

Work on connecting the land of natural beauty to Dhaka, Chattogram and other districts through rail lines is also going on to turn its enormous prospects of tourism and deep-sea port-based trade to account. The rail connectivity is expected to launch in a year or so, which will ease the commute to the tourist city.

Not just communication infrastructure, the Matarbari port, the country's first-ever deep-sea port at Maheshkhali in Cox's Bazar, will also be the gamechanger for the country's economy. A deep-sea port – in the fashion of Japan's Kashima port – will play a significant role in enhancing trade connectivity with Bangladesh's main import destinations China and ASEAN countries.

The government is also establishing island-based ecotourism parks along with a modern international airport and economic zones and a power generation hub in the district.

Cox's Bazar, a strategically important place in South Asia, has been neglected since independence despite its huge potential for tourism and investment. The people in the coastal district were destined to survive by fighting natural disasters.

Against this backdrop, the government has been implementing the master plan since 2009 to harness the tourism and investment potential of the district.

During a visit this June, it was found that all the projects were running at top gear overcoming the pandemic-led slowdown.

Among the ongoing megaprojects, the modern airport, the rail line, the 1200MW power plant, the Single Point Mooring (SPM) with a double pipeline, Sabrang Tourism Park and an economic zone will open gradually by 2023, triggering a change in the landscape of the district.

With the launch of the Matarbari deep-sea port, the Maheshkhali economic zone will become an island-based commercial hub.

The region has already become a centre of attraction for many countries, such as Japan, China and India, with so many infrastructure development activities going on.

Work is underway to set up three ecotourism parks at Sabrang, Naf and Sonadia to attract foreign investment to Cox's Bazar and ensure various facilities as per the demand of foreign tourists.

Paban Chowdhury, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza), told The Business Standard that it is safe to say that the ongoing projects centring Cox's Bazar, if implemented, will completely change the entire region from Sabrang to Matarbari in the next five years with modern tourism and a large investment.

Beza has a special economic zone covering 4,000 acres at Dhalghata in Maheshkhali. TK Group has already jointly developed 250 acres of land with a foreign company to set up a petrochemical industry and an LPG terminal there. Next to it will be a deep-sea port. As a result, several companies from different countries, including Thailand, have applied for land in the economic zone, he added.

But, Paban said it would take two to three years for all those to be ready. When Maheshkhali is connected to the mainland by the under-construction highway, the 1200MW Matarbari power plant comes into generation, domestic and foreign industries will start investing. For this, the Maheshkhali-Matarbari Integrated Infrastructure Development Initiative (MIDI) project is going on.

Abu Morshed Chowdhury Khuka, president of Cox's Bazar Chamber of Commerce and Industries, told TBS that the megaprojects being implemented in Cox's Bazar will make the region one of the biggest economic hubs in South Asia in the next five to six years. Once the Rohingya problem with Myanmar is resolved, it will be easier to connect with the Asian highway.

Work on Cox's Bazar international airport is nearing completion. There will be huge investments in the deep-sea port, LNG terminal, modern tourist centres, and economic zones, most of which will come from big domestic and foreign companies. In order to involve local businesses in this development journey, the government has to take initiative now to build a backward linkage, he said.

If there is a huge investment in Maheshkhali and Teknaf in the next five-six years, skilled manpower will also be needed. But the government is yet to give an account of how many skilled workforces will be required. If this information is available in advance, local educated youths can take the necessary training to develop their skills from now on, he added.

There is now no alternative round-the-clock communication system to go to Cox's Bazar except by road. Flight operations at the Cox's Bazar airport, which was built during British rule, now become impossible when daylight goes off.

To keep the flight operation at the airport on for 24 hours, work on all necessary installation has been completed. Once it is commissioned officially, planes will be able to take off and land there 24/7.

Work on the modernisation of the airport at a cost of over Tk1193 crore is now nearing completion. In 2015, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the work to turn the airport into the international one, sources said. 

The airport will allow tourists, traders and investors from different countries to directly reach Cox's Bazar.  Airlines operating on international routes will land here to take fuel as it will also be used as a refuelling hub.  It will work as a transit point for passengers from different countries.

According to the engineers involved in the implementation of the airport project, the construction of an international terminal building equipped with all modern facilities as part of the airport's development has made over 40% progress. The work will be completed by next December. Besides, a new separate internal terminal building will also be set up.

The runway at Cox's Bazar Airport has been stretched to 9,000 feet from 6,775 feet. Its width runway has been expanded to 146 feet from 125 feet.  In addition, the construction of an apron for parking aircraft is also in the final stage.

The government is implementing another project to increase the length of the runway from 9,000 feet to 10,700 feet to convert it into an international standard airport. As part of this, a part of the Bay of Bengal has been filled in the Matarbari part.

A 1700-foot runway will be built over the sea, which can be extended later as per necessity. Once this section is completed, Cox's Bazar airport will be able to operate all types of international flights.

A 101km railway line is being constructed from Dohazari in Chattogram to Cox's Bazar and a 29km railway line from Ramu to Ghumdhum on the Myanmar border to ensure a comfortable, safe, affordable and environment-friendly journey for tourists and locals by ensuring rail connectivity with Cox's Bazar from Chattogram and Dhaka. 

More than half of the overall project has so far been completed. The Dohazari-Cox's Bazar section has made more progress, and in some areas, fish plates have been installed.

The project work, which was initially delayed owing to the pandemic and complexities of land acquisition, has now gained momentum. According to the target, if this line is launched in December next year, locally produced dried fish, salt, rubber and fish can be transported across the country at a low cost.

The government decided to set up the railway line in 2009, but the project's field-level work started in 2018. The project was taken up, aiming at making a connection with the Trans-Asian Railway corridor and bringing Cox's Bazar under rail connectivity.

Construction of the iconic station in Cox's Bazar has started under the project. Besides, Work on the infrastructure of nine stations, 39 bridges, 145 culverts, and 96 level crossings of different classes is nearing completion.

Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan laid the foundation stone of the railway station building on 14 January this year under the project. The state-of-the-art station in the country has residential hotels, food courts, children's play zones. The six-storey oyster-shaped station will have three platforms and 400 car parking facilities.

With imports for Bangladesh, most of the mother vessels dock at Singapore, Colombo, Hong Kong or Malaysia, and smaller lighterage vessels carry the cargo to Chattogram port. Bigger ships will be able to moor at Matarbari directly once the deep-sea port project is completed.

Then smaller vessels will carry the cargo from Matarbari to Chattogram port or Chattogram Port Bay Terminal. This will save both time and money for Bangladesh in international shipping.

An artificial channel with a 16-metre draft has already been dug. A 100-metre extension of the already-dug channel will connect the deep-sea port that will be able to host a mother vessel with 1.15 lakh tonne cargo.               

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the Matarbari deep-sea port project in March last year. The construction site – in between Matarbari and Dhalghat – previously was a salt farming field.  

World's fourth largest dredger Cassiopeia-V has dug the salt field into the artificial channel. Stone blocks have been dumped at the opening side of the channel in the Bay to prevent siltation and to guide the rough sea.   

Currently a ship in a single voyage can carry 1,878 containers to Chattogram port. Container carriers four times bigger than the current capacity will be able to berth at Matarbari – which will reduce the import-export cost by 15%.  

The first phase deep-sea port plan consists of constructing two terminals for mother vessels and container carriers. The first phase construction, including the port and connecting roads, has been estimated at Tk17,777 crore with the deadline of 2026. In the second phase, three more container terminals will be built.        

Matarbari to be an electricity hub

Machines whir round the clock at remote Maheshkhali upazila to build four power plants on salt fields with a total capacity of 3,600MW.

Two ultra-super critical coal-fired power generation units, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), with a total capacity of 1200MW will be commissioned in 2023. The Jica's funding in the project is so far the largest among the Agency's other worldwide operations.

The project engineers said they already have constructed a jetty for the power plant, and Indonesian ship Vanessa Triumph anchored there for the first time in December last year with construction equipment. The construction of a separate jetty for the oil-carrying mother vessel is almost complete, which will be launched this month.   

As part of the jetty construction, a 14.3km channel has been excavated. The engineers said they are now working on the main power units and setting up the boiler.

Chinmoy Das, sub-divisional engineer of the Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited (CPGCBL), said the channel also benefits the Matarbari deep-sea port project for transporting construction materials.

CPGCBL and Japan's Sumitomo Corporation have jointly acquired land on Kohelia river bank at Matarbari to set up another 1,200MW coal-fired power plant.

Besides, land development and infrastructures constructions have started for the Bangladesh-Singapore 700MW coal-fired power plant.

State Minister for power Nasrul Hamid last week announced scrapping construction of ten coal-fired power plants, two of which are at Matarbari.

But, the two 1,900MW power plants may be turned into LNG or diesel-run production units, said officials.

Oil carrying mother vessels can come to Kutubdia island as they cannot dock at Chattogram port due to low navigability in the River Karnaphuli. Smaller oil tankers carry fuels from Kutubdia to Chattogram, and thus 1 lakh lakh tonne oil takes 11 days to arrive at the port.    

The 30,000-tonne diesel carrying vessels also have to stop at the island, and unload the consignment to smaller carriers to be reached at Chattogram.  

To replace the typical process which is slow, costly and risky, the government took up "Installation of Single Mooring (SPM) with Double Pipeline" project, and Dhaka signed a deal with Beijing in 2016 in this regard.    

The Tk6,567 crore SPM project will be completed in June next year.  

Construction of three high-speed diesel and three crude oil storages has almost finished. Oil from mother vessels at deep sea will come to the storages, and then go to Eastern Refinery depots in Chattogram's Anwara,            

The Anwara depots will be connected with the terminal storages with two 220 km pipelines. Once the project is completed, 1.2 lakh tonne oil will take only 48 hours from the mother vessel to the depot – saving Tk8,000 crore annually.

"The project will end within the deadline," Tolgay Mizzak, consulting engineer of the project, told The Business Standard.        

With 1.36 lakh cubic metre LNG, Belgian flag carrier Excellence anchored at Matarbari in 2018. Since then, Bangladesh has been heavily dependent on imported liquefied natural gas.          

 Around 60 crore cubic feet LNG is being supplied from two floating terminals to the national grid per day. Summit has launched a floating terminal at Maheshkhali channel.    

The government has decided to set up a permanent land-based LNG terminal at Matarbari as the demand is growing. Two consultation firms were appointed in December last year for the project. According to government estimation, the permanent terminal will go into operation in 2025.

Posh tourism centres at Sabrang, Naf and Sonadia

Around 60-70 lakh tourists come to Cox's Bazar per year. But the number of foreign tourists is still too low.

Sabrang, Naf and Sonadia island are being turned into tourism hotspots to attract the foreign visitors. The Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) is readying the areas as island tourism hubs.          

At Sabrang, BEZA has already constructed a five kilometre dam, and land development is now going on there. 

The Sabrang Tourism Park will have many tourist attractions such as a five-star hotel, ecotourism, marine aquarium, sea cruise, special designated area for foreigners, Saint Martin's travel arrangements, floating jetties, park, eco-cottages, under water and floating restaurants.

The BEZA has signed deals with Singapore-based Inter Asia Group Private Ltd and local Sunset Bay for constructing the accommodation facilities. Three companies who have taken plots at Sabrang are already building hotels.  

One the facilities are set up, the spot will be able to accommodate 39,000 tourists at a time and also generate 11,000 jobs. 

Besides, construction of Naf Tourism Park is going on. It will have the Maldives or Thailand-like eco-cottage, live entertainment theatre, shopping mall, cinema, golf club and water sports beach. There will be camping arrangements at night.          

The tourism park will have cable cars, and hanging bridges.

The Naf tourism project will be implemented at public-private partnership. After the project ends in 2023, around 12,000 people will be employed here. 

"Sabrang will be a tremendous place within the next one year," said Paban Chowdhury.

He also said there will be rehabilitation packages for people who donated their lands for the ecotourism projects. 

Naf and Sabrang have a potable water crisis, said Chowdhury. "We have identified two freshwater sources in Ukhia and consultants have been appointed to bring water from there"  

He also said they have rainwater harvesting and desalination plans too.

Cox's Bazar / Mega plan / economic game-changer

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