WELCOME 1

Welcome to THE COUNTRY PRESENTATION OF BANGLADESH 2

Contents of the Presentation 1.General Overview 2.Trade Scenario between Participating Countries 3. Cross- Border and Transit Transport by Land a. Roads b. Train 4. Present status and Challenges. 5. Legal Basis 6. Transport Facilitation Measures 7. Existing Challenges. 8. Suggestions 9. Conclusion

General Overview Area : 1,47,570 sq. kilo miters Population : million (2011) Total GDP : US$ 150 billion (Aug, 2013) GDP Per Capita: US$ 1044 (Aug, 2013) Total Exports : US$ billion (FY ) Total Imports : US$ billon (FY ) Capital : Dhaka Bangladesh achieved average 6% GDP growth during last five years. 4

Trade Scenario between Participating Countries

Trade with Participating Countries F/Y (value in million US$) COUNTRYEXPORTIMPORTBALANCE OF TRADE Afghanistan Pakistan (-) Iran Bhutan (-) Turkey Myanmar (-) India (-) Nepal (-) 9.29

Trade with Participating Countries (Value in million US$)

Land Ports of Bangladesh In Bangladesh 21 Land Customs Stations have been declared as Land Port. Major L.P. are: 1.Benapole 2.Burimari 3.Akhaura 4.Sonamosjid 5.Hili 6.Teknaf 7.Bibirbazar  12 L.P.are managed by Bangladesh Land Port Authority, 06 L. P. are operated under BOT.

Land Port Wise Trade( ) (In million M.T.) NAME OF THE PORT EXPORTIMPORTTOTAL BENAPOLE BURIMARI-3.57 AKHAURA SONAMOSJID HILI TEKNAF BIBIRBAZAR1.25-

Port Wise Export and Import (In million MT)

LEGAL BASIS OF ROADS CONNECTIVITY Procedure for Monitoring of entry/exit of Nepalese Vehicles through Phulbari- Bangladesh L.C.S. Signed on 23 October, Procedure for Monitoring of entry/exit of Vehicles at LCSs on India-Bangladesh Border. Signed on 23 October, 2010.

Main Goods Mainly: Jute and Jute goods, Cement, Battery, Rice, Wheat, Onion, Fruits, Fly ash, Lentil, Tobacco, Stone, Railway concrete slipper, Waste fabrics, glass sheet, Food products, Medicine, Net fabrics, Bamboo, Turmeric, Watch, Ginger, Marble slab, Processed stone, Bricks, Tiles, Fish, Furniture, Shoe, Leather, Umbrella, Betel nut, Readymade garments, Potato, Egg, Hair, Aluminum products, Plastic goods, machinery, Crashed stone, Drinks, PVC, Knit fabrics, Plastic doors, Cotton sharee etc are usually carried through our Land Port

Major Challenges in L.P. 1.Clearing or unloading of Bangladeshi Truck in Petrapole (India) 2.Delay in checking the quality of export items. 3.Absence of quarantine facility. 4. Overloading accelerates damage of road pavement and hence standardization of vehicle loading is crucially important for development of cross-border road network. 5.In Burimari Land Port of Bangladesh the Bhutanese trucks have necessary permission to entre into Bangladesh territory by using Indian land. But the Bangladeshi trucks have no such permission to enter into Land Port in Bhutan.

Major Challenges in L.P. 6. In Banglabanda Land Port of Bangladesh the Nepalees trucks have necessary permission to entre into Bangladesh territory by using Indian land. But the Bangladeshi trucks have no such permission to enter into Land Port in Nepal. 7. In Benapole Land Port of Bangladesh, at the Indian side there is no sufficient space for unloading/transshipment of Bangladeshi export items and has no warehouse facility.

Cross-Border Operations for Freight by Rail (In million M.T.) YEARDARSANAROHANPURBENAPOLETOTAL

Cross-Border Operations for Freight (In million M.T.)

Cross-Border Operations for Passengers YEARTOTAL PASSENGERS , , , ,027

Cross-Border Operations for Passengers

Legal Arrangement for Rail Operation Darsana-Ranaghat: Re-open on the basis of Inter Governmental Railway Meeting(IGRM) on 12 January, Rohanpur- Singhabad: Working Agreement between India and Bangladesh, signed on 23 September, Benapole-Petrapole: Working Agreement between India and Bangladesh, signed on 04 July, Maitree Express: Agreement between India and Bangladesh for running Passenger Train Service, Signed on 10 April,2008.

Major Challenges in Rail Transport Re-establishing Rail connections between Chilahati-Haldibari, Burimari-Chengrabandha, Kulaura- Mohishasan, Akhaura-Agartala. Gauge conversion of rail line between Birol- Radhikapore. Establishing Rohanpur- Singhabad rail route for Nepal Transit Traffic through India. Enhancement of Maitree Express Train trips/trains.

Transport Facilitation Measures SASEC Road Connectivity Project for Improving physical infrastructure at Banapole and Burimari land port and enhance capacity of Land Port Authority. India and Bangladesh have created Joint Working Groups on Trade and Customs in recent years. Regular meetings of customs and trade officials between the two countries have resulted in the reduction or elimination of many of the non-tariff barriers.

Transport Facilitation Measures Under SASEC, ADB has undertaken the Transport Logistics and Trade Facilitation Project to develop the missing rail link between Akhaura (Bangladesh) and Agartala (India) and to develop a cross-border management regime ADB has conducted Business Process Analysis to identify various bottlenecks that affect trade between Bangladesh and Nepal on the one hand, and Bangladesh and Bhutan on the other.

Challenges in Implementing Facilitation Measures Harmonization of Design Standards for Roads and Bridges, design speed, loading etc. Political attitudes Economic non-viability of Introducing automated System in all L.C.S. Shortage of adequate Fund

Suggestion for the facilitation of transit and transport The Intergovernmental Agreement on Dry Ports being adopted by the ESCAP member countries is expected to a key step towards streamlining trade facilitation. In order to ensure seamless movement of cross- border traffic, deployment of IT-base traffic information to provide homogeneous information on road corridors. Motor Vehicle Agreement. Harmonized traffic information service.

Suggestion for the facilitation of transit and transport Innovative financing options for regional infrastructure development and maintenance. Enhancing Private Sector Participation in infrastructure. Promoting sustainable and inclusive transport. Activate Infrastructure Windows of SAARC Development Fund. To activate infrastructure windows of SAARC Development Fund.

CONCLUSION Regional Transit and Transport and Transport Facilitation measures play a very vital role in Economic Development of every Country. The Countries involved in it must provide active cooperation in true sense. International Financial Institutions should enhance their support. Minimizing political gap will bring better result.