Uncertainty over site delays inland container depot project

Despite the completion of the feasibility study and the securing of funds from financiers, the project to construct the country's largest inland container depot is now facing a dilemma over its location.

As part of a plan initiated nearly two decades ago, Bangladesh Railway intends to construct the Inland Container Depot (ICD) on a 154-acre plot of land located in Dhirasram, Gazipur city.

The Railway had planned to start the $774.56 million project in the next year after completing the land acquisition.

But the Planning Commission is not giving its approval as it is now in favour of setting up the depot at Kaliganj, outside the Gazipur City Corporation area, fearing it will create traffic chaos in the heavily industrialised city.

There is an ICD in Kamalapur with a rail link at the heart of the capital and it is suffering from container congestion inside as well as traffic congestion outside.

Once the new project is completed, operations of this depot will be shifted there so that Kamalapur can be turned into a multimodal transport hub.

An inland container depot serves as a crucial intermediate location in the hinterland where cargo can be stored during transit or prepared for transportation. It is also utilised for loading and unloading of goods.

According to the Planning Commission, it will not be economically profitable to set up such a depot in the Gazipur City Corporation area. Apart from the construction of a new railway line to establish a link with the depot, agricultural land, forestland and water bodies have to be acquired for this.

After an inspection of Dhirashram site on 28 November 2022, a report prepared by the Planning Commission says 70% of the garment factories in the country are in Gazipur and Savar.

As the city continues to expand, the operation of ICD will inevitably create traffic jams. Besides, to build a depot at Dhirashram, a railway line of 7.2km from Pubail to Dhirashram has to be constructed and 78 acres of land have to be acquired for this, the report said.

But if it is in Kaliganj, there is no need to construct additional tracks as the site is by the Dhaka-Chattogram rail lines which can be connected to the depot. Besides, there is very little agricultural land and no forests and wetlands there.

According to the commission, a U-loop has to be built on the Dhaka-Bhulta bypass road at the entrance and exit of ICD in Dhirasram. It will hamper vehicular movements on the highway.

A senior official of the Planning Commission, on condition of anonymity, told The Business Standard, "There are many government offices, research institutes and various factories, including ready-made garments, in the Gazipur City Corporation area. Only this site in Dhirashram is empty now. But constructing an ICD in the area will be a significant cause of traffic congestion in the city in the future.

"Like the BRT project, the Dhirashram ICD project will be another bottleneck for Gazipur. For this reason, the Planning Commission has proposed to build the ICD at some other place instead of Dhirashram." 

He also said that if the right decision is not taken at the beginning, then this project may cause huge sufferings in the future.

"Considering all these, the Planning Commission is rethinking the place of ICD construction. But the final decision will be taken after the meeting with the Prime Minister's Office," the official added.

The Bangladesh Railway sent a project proposal of Tk3,473 crore to the Planning Commission for land acquisition for the ICD construction in Dhirasram, which is awaiting approval.

Railway officials said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to finance the installation of the original ICD. Railway had planned to start the construction of the main ICD in 2024 after completing the land acquisition.

The survey work of the project has already been completed. If the ICD is now shifted to a new location, a new feasibility study has to be conducted. This may delay the construction of the ICD by another two years, which may eventually put ADB's loan availability in this project in jeopardy, officials said.

According to the Railway, of the total cost of $774.56 million, $250 million will come in the form of a loan from the ADB and the government will invest $416.15 million in the project while a private firm – which is yet to be selected – will inject the remaining $108 million to build the superstructure of the ICD.

In a press conference on 4 April, Planning Division Secretary Satyajit Karmaker said the location is very important to get economic benefits from the ICD project. Due to this, the approval process of the project is taking time.

SM Salimullah Bahar, chief planning officer of the Bangladesh Railway, said, the Railway is now waiting for the decision of the Planning Commission. ICD location will be planned as per the commission's decision.

"The Chattogram port is in Chattogram city. If the ICD is established in Gazipur city, the city will be more developed. If it is built along the highway, it will be easier to transport containers by road."

The planned Dhirasram ICD with a 7.2-metre rail link will be able to handle 4,00,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers a year, bringing about massive changes in freight train transportation, he added.

According to the Bangladesh Railway, Chattogram Port handles almost all international containers in Bangladesh.

On the other hand, container freight trains carry only 3% of the domestic movement of international containers. Container freight trains are in operation only between Kamalapur ICD and Chattogram Port.

In 2021, Chattogram Port handled around 3.1 million TEUs of containers. Meanwhile, Kamalapur ICD handles around 90,000 TEUs annually, operating at or above its capacity.

Currently, there are 19 ICDs in the country.