Matarbari deep seaport: Land acquisition cost doubles

Land acquisition costs for the Matarbari port development project have more than doubled as the area, initially deemed non-arable, has turned out to be salt fields, following a ministerial review initiated over objections from local residents.

Earlier, the Cox's Bazar district administration decided to pay compensation to the families living in the 283.27-acre area considered as non-arable land. The compensation per acre, which was set at Tk24 lakh, has increased to Tk55 lakh based on the report from the review committee formed by the Ministry of land.

The Chattogram Port Authority, which is constructing the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica)-funded fast-track project, will have to pay an additional Tk87.47 crore.

Earlier in June, the port authority paid Tk75.16 crore to the Cox's Bazar district administration. Due to the change in land category, the total land acquisition cost will be over Tk162.58 crores.

"The district administration wrote to the port authority in the second week of December, asking it to pay the remaining Tk87.47 crore, which process has been initiated," Al Amin Parvez, additional deputy commissioner (Revenue) of Cox's Bazar, told The Business Standard.      

"Once the district administration disburses the compensation money to the land owners, there will be no further complications regarding land acquisition," he added.

Altogether 229 people own the land, where settlements still exist, according to officials.

"After analysing map data, inspecting the site and talking to locals we were convinced that the land in the project area is used as salt fields. Locals use it as salt fields for six months while they farm shrimp the remaining six months. Therefore, we have recommended in our report that the land be categorised as salt fields," MdAsaduzzaman, deputy secretary at the land ministry and head of review committee, told The Business Standard.

"After our report, the price of the land was determined at a meeting at the ministry and the Cox's Bazar district administration was instructed accordingly," he added.

Earlier, Mir ZahidHasan, director of the Matarbari Port Development Project, repeatedly wrote letters to the district administration asking it to hand over the acquired land. The letters mentioned that the progress of the project, including dredging activities, was being severely hampered due to the stalemate over determining land category.

It may be recalled that on 25 August, The Business Standard ran a report, headlined "Matabari port faces land acquisition hiccup."

The Matarbari Deep Sea Port is being constructed at Moheshkhaliupazila'sMatarbari and Dhalghata area in Cox's Bazar. The Chattogram Port Authority under the Ministry of Shipping is implementing the work.

On 16 November 2020, the Chattogram Port Authority inaugurated the project at a press briefing at its office.

Ships with an 18.5 metre draft will be able to dock at the port once its construction is completed in mid-2025. The port will be hosting cargo carriers with a capacity of 8,000-10,000 containers. The initial design of the deep seaport supports 8 lakh containers per year while the capacity could be enhanced further with additional jetties.

Currently, 92% of the country's trade is conducted through Chattogram port, which has been struggling to cope with the growing volume of trade by sea.