Bangladesh Regional Waterway Transport Project 1

The development objective of the First Regional Waterway Transport Project for Bangladesh is to improve Inland Water Transport (IWT) efficiency and safety for passengers and cargo along the Chittagong-Dhaka-Ashuganj Regional Corridor and to enhance sector sustainability. The Project consists of three components as follows: 1) Improved inland waterway navigation include work to guarantee advertised depths and widths of navigation channels on select river routes. The work also includes provision of aids to navigation. The work is to be done on a Performance-based Contracting (PBC) method designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of river asset management and maintenance. It is designed to ensure that the physical condition of the rivers under contract are adequate for the need of river users, over the entire period of the contract which is six to seven years; 2) Improved services at priority inland waterway terminals and landing stations supports the development of two cargo terminals, four passenger terminalsand 14 landing stations (or ghats). The development of passenger and cargo terminals are within existing inland waterway port areas under the jurisdiction of BIWTA. It includes the modernization and extension of existing facilities to cater for increased demand; 3) Institutional capacity development and sector sustainability will support Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority's (BIWTA) overall enhancement of its management systems and human resources capacity for modern, efficient, and high quality management of the IWT sector in line with international standards, and to help BIWTA achieve long-term operational and financial sustainability, and enhance the climate resilience of the IWT sector.