To develop the trasportation infrustucture .Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday in parliament unveiled her government’s massive plans to develop and modernise all sea, river and land ports of the country in addition to setting up a deep-sea port to boost Bangladesh’s economy.

She said Chittagong and Mongla ports will be prepared for the use of neighbouring countries by implementing various plans including construction of new container terminal, purchasing modern equipment for the two ports and carrying out capital dredging from Sadarghat to the third Karnaphuli Bridge.

The government also plans to construct new river ports at Noapara, Bhairab-Ashuganj and Barguna and a new inland container terminal at Pangaon. Besides, land ports at Teknaf, Hili, Banglabandha and Bibirbazar will be made operative after development work, Hasina said in her scripted answer to a query.

“Only 40 percent capacity of Chittagong port and 10 percent of Mongla port is being currently used. Revenue earning will be more than double when the usage is increased,” she said, adding that the earning will be increased further when neighbouring countries will be allowed to use the two seaports. This will also generate new employment opportunities.

On setting up a deep-sea port at Sonadia Island, Hasina said in light of a cabinet decision work is on to prepare detailed design of the port and explore foreign fund.

The premier said her government plans to introduce computerised container terminal management system at Chittagong Port, construct backward linkage at terminals 4 and 5 at New Mooring container terminal, appoint private global operator for running the terminal.

She said two vessels, one for oily waste reception and another for solid waste, will be purchased to improve environment management of Chittagong Port.

“Radiation detection equipment will be installed at Chittagong Port under the US Megaports Initiative to prevent smuggling of nuclear and radioactive goods through global maritime system,” the premier said.

The Karnaphuli container terminal will be constructed replacing expired jetties 11-13 at Chittagong Port. A multi-storey car-parking shed will be built at the port, she said.

Hasina said the government has planned for bank protection and capital dredging from Sadarghat to the third Karanphuli Bridge to protect important establishments at Chittagong Port from possible risk, and ensure discipline berthing of ships and navigability in Karanphuli channel.

On the development of Mongla Port, Hasina said her government plans to collect cargo handling equipment, cutter suction dredger, dispatch boat, and carry out dredging at outer bar of the Pashur channel and harbour area of the port.

She said activities of Benapole land port will be brought under automation to bring dynamism and transparency in its functions. The port will also have its own cargo handling equipment. Besides, a project to modernise the port will be implemented in two phases, she said.

The premier said Bhomra land port and Barisal river port will also be developed.

Besides, railway network will be set up across the country as well as the network from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar will be expanded.

Hasina said the number of lanes on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway will be increased to six in phases as the process for upgrading the highway into a four-lane one has begu

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday ordered stern actions to stop all corruption and irregularities in Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited.

“You have to curb all sorts of corruption and irregularities with an iron hand,” she said in her clear direction for the authorities concerned, as the national flag carrier is now poised for a fresh takeoff with a new look.

The prime minister issued the directive while inaugurating a new logo and livery of the recently-converted aviation company, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited, at the VVIP Terminal of Zia International Airport.
She also asked the Biman officials to re-start the Dhaka-New York flight as soon as possible after consulting the US counterpart.
The PM put emphasis on the resumption of all suspended Biman routes to the destinations wherein a good number of Bangladeshi expatriates live.
She lauded the move of Biman authorities for switching over to e-ticketing as this would help stop the cumulative irregularities involving ticket booking.
A new journey of the Biman started on Wednesday with new logo and livery and inclusion of new-generation Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 737-800NG airplanes in its fleet.

The PM also cut the logo embedded cake and got on board the new-generation aircraft.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister GM Quader also spoke on the occasion.

Hasina received models of 777 and 737 aircraft from Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited board of directors chairman Jamal Uddin Ahmed and managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Zakiul Islam.

The renaissance event also showcased seven new uniforms (saris) designed to be worn by the Biman employees engaged on-board service and customer touch point on the ground.

The prime minister in her inaugural speech recalled that Biman was born shortly after the independence of the country. On January 4, 1972, Biman embarked upon its journey as the national airline of Bangladesh, a country fresh from gruesome experiences of independence war, with the maiden flight on the Dhaka-Chittagong route.

Biman spread its wings outside on international route flying from Dhaka to London on March 5, 1972.

“This organisation has the rare chance of carrying the flag of the country around the world,” she said
New generation Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 737-800NG in the fleet of Biman Bangladesh Biman Airlines Ltd will fly soon, Muhammad Zakiul Islam, Managing Director & CEO of Biman, told bdnews24.com.

Earlier in the week, he had told bdnews24.com that the airline was hoping to resume flights to Delhi, Bangkok and Mumbai by the start of March.

“Besides, we have plans to initiate flights to Tripoli, Colombo and Guangzhou,” he said on Wednesday

“The Dhaka-New York flights will also hopefully resume within March,’ said Islam. Biman had suspended these flights in July 2006.

Islam also said the long-haul routes like Dhaka-London would be operated by two Boeing 777-200 ERs, of which another is expected by March.

The regional routes will be operated by the Boeing 737-800s.

An Airbus A310 was also expected to be added to Biman’s fleet by March, he said.

Islam said all four aircraft were being leased on a temporary basis till Biman procures new planes.

Currently Biman connects to 16 international and 3 domestic destinations with its fleet of four DC-10s, two Airbus-320s, two F-28s and two rented Boeing 747s.

In 2008, Biman signed a deal with Boeing for four 777s, four 787s and two 737s at a cost of $2.5 billion.

UK-BANGLADESH FLIGHTS SET TO SOAR

Meanwhile, travellers flying between the UK and Bangladesh are set to enjoy more frequent flights and a greater choice of destinations following an agreement signed between the two countries recently.

According to the agreement, the number of flights between the two countries will more than treble from 10 to 31 a week on each side.

The new arrangements also allow airlines from either country to operate services between anywhere in Bangladesh and the United Kingdom, replacing the existing regime which only allowed flights between Heathrow, Manchester and Dhaka.

The move paves the way for direct flights to the UK from Sylhet, the north-eastern Bangladesh district where the majority of the UK’s large Bangladeshi community originate.

The new arrangements also mean Biman Bangladesh Airline will be free to start its new service from Dhaka to New York via Manchester, which is expected to be launched next month.

Due to Global recession and the strong surveving capacity of Bangladesh and due to the reformed atitude of political govt develop the interest of investing in Bangladesh.Bangladeshi workers abroad sent home a record $6.48 billion as remittances in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, registering a 20.89 percent growth over the same period in the last fiscal year.

The remittances from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad were estimated at $950.92 million in January, up by $77.06 million from the previous month. In December 2009, the remittance was $873.86 million, according to the central bank statistics, released on Wednesday.

“The inflow of remittances is still at a satisfactory level,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, told KAHN Media in Dhaka, adding that most of the Bangladeshi expatriates sent higher amount of remittances to their relatives during the period under review to facilitate the current Boro cropping.

Bangladesh received $6.484 billion during the July-January period of the fiscal 2009-10 against $5.363 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal, the BB’s data showed.

The latest figure shows that despite the slowdown of overseas jobs, inflow of remittances has maintained an upward trend — a continuation of last fiscal year when remittances grew 22.41 percent, the central bank officials said.

The BB earlier took a series of measures to encourage expatriate Bangladeshis to send their hard-earned wages through formal banking channels instead of the illegal “hundi” system in order to boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

Four state-run commercial banks and dozens of private commercial banks have also stepped up efforts to increase remittance flow from the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore, Italy and the United States.

“We are establishing new contacts with foreign exchange houses so that our overseas workers can find it easy to send money home. We’re also trying to set up our own exchange houses in different parts of the world,” Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Agrani Bank Limited Syed Abu Naser Bukhtear Ahmed told KAHN in the capital, Dhaka.

The country’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $10.13 billion on Wednesday due to the robust growth of remittances, the BB officials confirmed.

Amar Ekushey Boi Mela -2010started .Prime minister Sheikh Hasina stressed the role of books in a nation’s development as she inaugurated the Bangla Academy’s annual Amar Ekushey Boi Mela on Monday.

She urged everyone to buy and read books, highlighting their importance in human endeavours. “The link between culture and education is a necessity for development of humanity. And books play the most important role for establishing this link.”

The prime minister requested publishers to support the works of new, young writers as well as established authors. She also assured all assistance to develop Bangla Academy into “the pride of the nation”.

She said Bangla should be made an official UN language. “Currently six languages are used for official work in the United Nations. The government is now working to include Bangla in that list. I myself address the UN in Bangla,” Hasina said.

On the long-proposed International Mother Language Institute, she said: “We took steps to construct the institute when we last formed government in 1996. The then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan laid the foundation stone of the institute.”

Hasina condemned opposition BNP for halting the work, saying, “They do not understand the real value of their mother language.”

Work had resumed on the institute under the current government, the prime minister said. “We are hoping to finish it by this month.”

She said the world-class institute will carry out research on minority languages around the globe, and create a database on endangered languages.

Hasina repeated the AL government’s pledge during their last tenure to create a cultural belt encompassing Bangla Academy, Suhrawardi Udyan and Dhaka University.

‘PRIDE OF THE NATION’

She said, “This academy has to be made the pride of the nation. For that we want dedicated workers, researchers and officials. We will provide all sort of assistance for this. There will be no shortage of funds.”

Bangla Academy director general Shamsuzzaman Khan presented a vision to make the academy a “true research organisation for Bangla language and literature”.

He said, “Until now, the academy has only published educational books. We want to move on from this and start publishing research books. We are requesting the prime minister for financial assistance for this.”

Khan said the academy had also taken steps to publish an authentic Bangla grammar book. “At present, a mixture of English and Sanskrit grammar is followed. The irregularities of the language will be eradicated once a proper Bangla grammar is established.”

The inauguration was presided over by National Professor Kabir Chowdhury and attended by culture minister Abul Kalam Azad and culture state minister Promodkumar Mankin amongst others.

After her inaugural address, Hasina opened the Language Movement Museum at the academy premises, and went on to visit stalls of the month-long fair.

This year’s book fair will see 366 organisations hosting a total of 505 stalls including 26 stalls for little magazines. Of them, around 100 stalls are set up on the street outside the Bangla Academy premises.

The director general of the academy said that there will be space for small publishing houses and individuals at the stall of the Jatiya Gronthokendro.

He also said the academy has formed a task force to keep the fairground, divided into nine sections named after language martyrs, writers and poets, free of illegal publications
Event :
The fair management committee has completed all necessary preparations, including allocation of stalls and security measures.

The fair venue was seen very busy Sunday as the publishing houses were taking the last-minute preparations. They were working round the clock to make the fair a success.
In the fair, a total of 505 stalls have been distributed among 356 institutions. As well as the publication houses, several voluntary organisations, government and non-government organisations and media houses are participating in the fair.

The fair will remain open from 3:00pm to 9:00pm daily without holidays till February 28. On holidays the gate will open at 11:00am and close at 9:00pm.

On February 21, the International Mother Language Day, the fair will open at 8:00am and continue till 10:00pm.

Book lovers will get 25 percent concession on the books published by the publishers and organisations while Bangla Academy will provide 30 percent concession on its own books.

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Different spots of the premises have been named after Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Dhirendranath Dutta, Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad and Begum Rokeya.

The corners for children and little magazine have been named after poet Sufia Kamal and writer Somen Chanda respectively

Chittagong, Bangladesh (gurumia) – To secure the investment .The interest rate on 10-Year Bangladesh Government Treasury Bonds (BGTB) remained unchanged on Tuesday as commercial banks are not interested their funds for the existing yield,

The yield, generally known as coupon interest rate, on the 10-year BGTB was 8.7500 percent on the day unchanged from the previous auction, held on Dec.1 last year, according to auction results.

“Most of the banks expect that the demand for fresh investment would go up in the near future and then the interest rate on the long-term security would increase further,” a senior treasury official of a private commercial bank told AHN in the capital, Dhaka.

Eighteen bidders offered bids amounting to US$46.65 million (BDT 3.23 billion) for the risk free government bond. But only two bids amounting to $14.44 (BDT 1.00 billion) was accepted and the same amount was devolved on primary dealers, the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, said in its auction result, issued on Tuesday.

The central bank of Bangladesh earlier selected 15 PDs – 12 commercial banks and three non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) – to handle government-approved securities in the secondary market.

Currently, four government bonds – 5-year, 10-year, 15-year and 20-year -are being traded in the markets

The Bond Market in Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Supreme Court’s landmark ruling to nullify the 1979 constitutional amendment that had allowed religion-based political parities to flourish in the country has been widely welcomed with the government terming it as a “victory of constitutionalism”.

Legal analysts and media said the yesterday’s judgment of the Appellate Division upholding an earlier High Court verdict paved the way for restoring the constitutional spirit of “secularism” and “democracy”.

‘constitution to get back on (original) 1972 track’ as it lost ‘basic character’ after the Fifth Amendment in 1979.
angladesh’s Supreme Court on Tuesday declared as illegal a Constitutional amendment that had allowed religion-based political parities to flourish in the country, paving the way for the government to ban such groups.

The Supreme Court’s order came on two writ petitions challenging an earlier High Court verdict that had declared the 1979 Fifth Amendment to the Constitution as illegal.

A six-member bench of the apex court’s Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Md Tafazzul Islam upheld the High Court verdict after six days of hearing on the two leave-to-appeal petitions filed by opposition BNP Secretary General Khondker Delwar Hossain and three lawyers from its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami.

The amendment declared illegal had also legitimised the governments that came to power following the coup of August 15, 1975 in which Bangladesh’s founder president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family members was killed.

The then deputy army chief general Ziaur Rahman had subsequently emerged as the strongman of Bangladesh and ascended to presidency, floating the BNP as a political party.

His regime had also scrapped an earlier Constitutional ban on religion-based politics through the Fifth Amendment.

The August 2005 High Court judgement had also rendered illegal the regimes of Khandaker Moshtaque Ahmed, Abu Sadaat Mohammad Sayem along side that of Ziaur Rahman between August 15, 1975 and April 9, 1979.

Law Minister Shafique Ahmed had recently said the government was awaiting the apex court verdict to take a decision on banning religion-based political parties.

The Fifth Amendment was carried out during late president Ziaur Rahman’s BNP government in 1979 that had allowed the religion-based political parties and added the Arabic ‘Bismillah-ar-Rahman-ar-Rahim’ or in the name of God, the most merciful, benevolent in the preamble of the Constitution.

Ahmed, however, said the words ‘Bismillahir-ar-Rahman-ar Rahim’ would remain intact in the preamble.

The original Constitution of 1972 had embodied four fundamental principles of nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism.

The Bangladeshi government welcomed the judgment with law minister Shafique Ahmed calling it a “victory of constitutionalism”.

“It established the truth that the state does not have any role to decide if a citizen should go to heaven or hell,” Ahmed said.