C T Online Desk: In 2011, a company named Malaysian Maritime and Dredging Corporation signed a contract with Chittagong Port Authority for the capital dredging project of Karnaphuli river. It was closed within two years of its commencement.
Saif Powertech Limited’s sister concern E-Engineering is going to finish that work under the supervision of the Navy after burning a lot of wood. According to the project sources, when the plan of capital dredging of Karnaphuli was accepted in May 2018 with the Bangladesh Navy, 42 million cubic meters of silt was supposed to be extracted from the river bed. Dredging work started on October 17 of that year.
The project implementation period was till May 2022. 5.1 million cubic meters of alluvial soil is being lifted after the revision of the project. As a result, the cost of the project increased from Tk 258 crore to Tk 295 crore. As the Malaysian Maritime and Dredging Corporation failed to complete the work, the main contractor appointed a local agent as a subcontractor for the project. But in 2013, the port authority was forced to cancel the contract with Malaysian Maritime due to their lack of efficiency. The company filed a case in court alleging that it was damaged
. As a result, the capital dredging project was stopped due to legal complications. Port officials said that the Chittagong Port Authority decided to change the name of the project and start dredging again. At present, the capital dredging project called ‘Sadarghat to Bakaliar Char Dredging Project’ is almost at its final stage.
