Dhaka: After developing a strategic
Gwadar Port in the Arabian Sea for Pakistan, China has offered
assistance to develop a deep sea port in the Bay of Bengal for
Bangladesh.
The Chinese help is a part of an understanding reached
out between the two countries during Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina`s visit to the Communist nation last year.
"We`re serious about our proposal (on deep sea port)
and the Chinese government has reassured its cooperation,"
Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes told mediapersons yesterday.
He said the government was preparing the proposal
framework for the construction of Sonadia deep sea port in Cox
Bazar district of Chittagong division.
Chinese vice-president Xi Jinping last week assured
Dhaka of its assistance during a meeting with Bangladesh
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni in Beijing.
Quayes said Dhaka was working on the proposal with a
structural design for the deep sea project in the Bay of
Bengal but "it has not been finalised yet".
The Foreign Secretary said China offered RMB 150
million to Bangladesh for the country’s socio-economic
development and assured Dhaka of China`s cooperation in
constructing the deep sea port.
He said Dhaka has decided to set up consular office in
Kunming as Kunming-Chittagong link through Myanmar was on card
to set up trans-regional connectivity.
"We have close relations with China," the top diplomat
said.
However, Quayes said no country has made any
commitment for any grant as Bangladesh is yet to provide a
proposal on the project.
Gwadar Port is being constructed in two phases with
heavy investment from China. The Port is a developing
warm-water, deep-sea port situated at Gwadar in Baluchistan
province of Pakistan at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the
entrance of the Persian Gulf.
PTI
