The Advisory Council (AC) of the interim government has approved the closure of three non-operational and non-profitable land ports and the suspension of operations at another.
The decision was made on Thursday at the 40th meeting of the Advisory Council chaired by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, confirmed Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam.
According to the decision, operations at Chilahati land port in Nilphamari, Daulatganj land port in Chuadanga, and Thegamukh land port in Rangamati will be permanently shut down. In addition, operations at Balla land port in Chunarughat upazila of Habiganj have been temporarily suspended.
Earlier on March 2, the Ministry of Shipping in a press release said that it had recommended closing three non-functional land ports and halting operational activities at another. The recommendation came from a review committee formed by the ministry to assess the economic viability and operational status of eight land ports under the Bangladesh Land Port Authority.
The committee concluded that, given the lack of trade potential and supporting infrastructure, there was no need to invest in developing facilities at Chilahati, Daulatganj, and Thegamukh land ports.
Regarding Balla land port, the committee noted that the absence of infrastructure and roads on the Indian side made it impossible to operate, and therefore suggested suspending its activities.
It also proposed merging the two operational points of Gobrakura-Karaitali land port in Mymensingh into a single functional unit.
After taking office, Brig Gen (retd) Dr M Sakhawat Hossain, adviser to the ministries of shipping and labour, conducted field visits to various land ports across the country.
Following these inspections, he directed the formation of a high-level committee to review the status of unprofitable and non-operational ports constructed under the previous government.
On November 6, the Ministry of Shipping formed a six-member committee tasked with this evaluation.
The committee reviewed eight land ports – Nakugaon (Sherpur), Gobrakura-Karaitali (Mymensingh), Dhanua Kamalpur (Jamalpur), Balla (Habiganj), Biral (Dinajpur), Chilahati (Nilphamari), Daulatganj (Chuadanga), and Thegamukh (Rangamati).
After conducting site visits and assessing available data, infrastructure, advantages and disadvantages, and financial viability, it submitted its report with recommendations to the shipping adviser.