Desk Report,
Road, Maritime, Aviation and Railways should be in one ministry: Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor
Sheikh Moinuddin, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor on Road Transport and Bridges, has said that the country’s road, shipping, aviation and railway departments should come under one ministry or under one roof. He said, we need a coordinated plan and a ministry.
Road, Maritime, Aviation and Railways should be in one ministry: Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor
Sheikh Moinuddin said these things while speaking as the chief guest at the budget review meeting of the research institute Policy Research Institution (PRI) on Thursday afternoon. The meeting was presided over by the chairman of the organization, Zaidi Sattar. PRI’s chief economist Ashiqur Rahman, former president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rizwar Rahman and others were present.
Sheikh Moinuddin said, here the planning, design, procurement process is all done through separate departments. The procurement process takes a long time. It takes 4-5 years from project approval to construction. Many things change in this. The price of products increases. Apart from this, the bridge department, road department and railway department are making separate long-term plans. Everyone is thinking about themselves. But a coordinated solution is needed here. A coordinated master plan is being considered.
In response to a question about the government’s plan to unify the four ministries, Sheikh Moinuddin said, “It should happen, it may take time. But there must be such a plan.”
While working on Dhaka’s roads, I saw that various organizations, including two city corporations, WASA, Highway Police, Electricity Department, and Transport Owners Association, are involved. Therefore, road management here is much more complex than in the United States. Although this sector is larger in the United States. I have worked on transport and logistics there.” Former president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rizwar Rahman said at the meeting that many factories closed in July-December. Employment has decreased. Even good businessmen are struggling; because the interest rate has increased from 9 percent to 15 percent. Businessmen are trying to reduce business expenses in various ways. But the government is increasing revenue expenditure. Talking about commission for tax officers is discriminatory.
