The government formally handed over the operations of four land ports to the private operators Sunday under Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) arrangement for a period of 25 years to boost cross border trade. The ports that have been transferred through open tenders include Sona Masjid in Chapai-Nawabganj, Hili in Dinajpur, Banglabandha in Panchagarh and Bibir Bazar in Comilla. The Bangladesh Land Port Authority (BLPA) signed four separate agreements with concerned parties on the day to transfer authorisation of handling the ports to the private sector. Managing Director of Panama Trading Muniruzzaman Chowdhury, Managing Director Shepherd Comilla Land Port Ltd Abul Kalam Azad, of ERABA Ltd Alauddin Ahmed signed the agreements on behalf of their respective companies. The private operators will able to start partial operation of the ports by next six months if the land of the ports will be transferred in time. "We are hopeful to start partial operation of the ports within next six months," Managing Director the Panama Trading Muniruzzaman Chowdhury told the FE after signing the agreements at the BLPA head office Sunday in Dhaka. He also said: "We have planned to provide online services to the businessmen to ensure the latest position of their goods and services". "The land transfer agreement will be signed with the concerned parties within three months," Chairman of the BLPA Amzad Hossain Sarker told reporters following the signing of the agreements with the concerned companies. He also expected that the overall revenue collection and the efficiency of the ports will be increased due to this transfer. Ruling party lawmaker Shahjahan Ali Mia and the BLPA senior officials were present on the occasion. According to the agreements, the Panama Trading Ltd has been awarded to operate Sona Masjid and Hili ports. The company will share 49 percent of its annual revenue with the government as variable royalty. The Shepherd Comilla Land Port Ltd and the ERBA Ltd will operate Bibir Baza and Banglabandha ports respectively. The ERBA Ltd will share 31.26 percent variable royalty and Shepherd 15.01 percent with the government. The operators will have to pay a fixed amount of royalty to the government annually for using land and other infrastructures for the next 25 years. Besides, the private operators will have to make advance payments on the basis of potential amount of revenue collection. The amount of advance payment for operating Sona Masjid is Tk 50.7 million, Hili Tk 28.5 million, Banglabandha Tk 5.8 million and Bibir Bazar Tk 5.8 million.
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