ADB calls for capacity building of Dhaka-Ctg transport corridor
Warns any failure to cost 20pc of foreign trade potential
Star Business Report
Improving capacity of the Dhaka-Chittagong Transport Corridor is an enormous challenge for Bangladesh, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) giving a note of warning that in case of any failure to build its capacity and efficiency might cost the country 20 percent of the foreign trade potential and reduce GDP growth by 1 percent.The ADB in its latest quarterly suggested that the country needs a comprehensive development strategy for the corridor. "Freight traffic through this corridor is expected to grow at sustained rates of more than 8 percent a year in the coming decade. Serious weakness in the corridor's transport logistics have impeded its ability to take what could be a crucial facilitating role in expansion of the country's external trade and in regional transport connectivity," the multilateral development partner said in the March edition of the quarterly. It lamented that the corridor is facing serious congestion problems because of shortage of capacity and inefficient operation. The Dhaka-Chittagong Transport Corridor, the quarterly said, provides potential subregional linkages to Myanmar, Thailand, China, northeastern states of India, through Jamuna Bridge and the proposed Padma Bridge to the Indian state West Bengal and to Bhutan and Nepal through India. Developing a multimodal transportation system combining road, rail, ports and inland water will help increase export-led growth in Bangladesh, and its integration with South Asia and beyond, the ADB said. Criticising the government revenue collection performance, the quarterly report said despite prudent fiscal management, revenue collection by the National Board of Revenue increased only by 8.5 percent in the July-March period of the fiscal 2007 compared with the corresponding period of FY 2006. Political disruption during October 2006 to early January 2007 in the lead-up to the formation of the caretaker government and related uncertainties slowed economic performance and contributed to revenue shortfall, the ADB clarified. The report said during the period inflationary trends heightened with point-to-point raising to 7.4 percent in March 2007 from 6.8 in July 2006. Food inflation increased from 7.4 percent to 8.5 percent while nonfood inflation declined slightly to 5.8 percent from 5.9 percent. "Acceleration in food inflation is mainly attributed to higher foodgrain prices in both the domestic and international markets, together with reduced imports and lower domestic production of foodgrains," the report remarked.
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