India to respect protocol for Bangladesh port project, envoy says

DHAKA: India today assured Bangladesh that it would abide by the country's laws for proposed construction of a port after Dhaka denied being aware of any such plan.


Bangladesh's foreign ministry had yesterday sought a clarification from the MEA over media reports that India plans to carry out feasibility studies for the Narayanganj river port container terminal without informing Dhaka.

"Our High Commissioner Pankaj Sharan told (Bangladesh's) foreign secretary Shahidul Haque that New Delhi will not violate the inter-country protocols," an Indian High Commission spokesman told PTI.

His comments came a day after the Indian envoy held a meeting with Haque at the foreign ministry days after a leading Bengali newspaper carried a report on the issue sparking a media outcry.

The report said the Ministry of External Affairs invited proposals for feasibility studies for the proposed container terminal at suburban port town of Narayanganj without Bangladesh's knowledge.

After the meeting with Sharan, the foreign secretary told media that the matter evolved from a proposal for a joint venture project but the process for it was still at its primary level.

Sharan said New Delhi remained "sensitive" about any concerns or speculations about the container terminal.

"But we are respectful to the inter-country protocol and we have no intention to defy it," he said.

Bangladesh's foreign ministry officials earlier said they saw the tender for the project but prior to that they were completely in the dark about the project.

"We sent a letter to New Delhi on Monday seeking clarification about the container port in Narayanganj," a foreign ministry official earlier told newsmen which apparently resulted in the Indian envoy's meeting with the foreign secretary.

Earlier reports said Bangladesh's Kumudini Welfare Trust in 2011 gave a proposal to Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) to build the terminal on its 46 acre land by the bank of the Shitalakhya River under a joint venture.

But officials said CONCOR was required to engage with India's commerce or external affairs ministry for proceeding with the project in a foreign country and therefore the MEA initiated the process for conducting the study.

The Indian envoy said no decision was made so far for the CONCOR investment for the project.

"Any such decision would be taken following the laws of Bangladesh and exhausting the due inter country procedures," Sharan said.

Narayanganj is a crucial port facility on the outskirts of Dhaka which is also used by Indian cargo vessels under the India-Bangladesh water transport protocol.