India keen to operate Bangladesh’s major port
Neighbouring India now wants to operate Bangladesh’s second seaport Mongla, where both New Delhi and Beijing are also keen to invest in new terminal construction.
India already has secured transshipment facilities at Bangladesh’s two seaports in Chittagong and Mongla for carrying cargoes to its landlocked seven-sister states in the North East to avoid travelling over 1,650 kilometres.
Earlier in May, a delegation of India Ports Global Limited, led by its Managing Director Sunil Mukundan, visited Mongla Port to see the facility and had a meeting with high-ups of the port authority where they expressed their interest in operating the port.
“Yes, they came to visit our port and expressed interest to be involved in port operations,” confirmed a senior official of the Mongla Port Authority.
If successfully negotiated, Mongla will be the third international port operation for India after Chabahar Port in Iran and Sittwe in Myanmar, which both are managed by India Ports Global Limited.
The Indian company has been asked to submit a detailed written proposal to the Mongla Port Authority for consideration. The representative of the Mongla Port Authority said the delegation was told that after receiving the proposal it would be evaluated and if found profitable then would be sent to the government for a decision.