The Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT) is poised to incorporate a provision under which Bangladesh has to bear 20 per cent of the route-maintenance cost.
Officials said the protocol route is mainly used for carrying Indian cargos.
India has proposed the amendment to the PIWTT before floating an international tender for fairway development of Ashuganj-Zakiganj stretch of Kushiyara River and Sirajganj-Daikhawa stretch of Jamuna River.
Until now, India has paid Bangladesh Tk 100 million annually to keep the route navigable.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) director Shafiqul Haque told the FE an estimated amount of Tk 1.53 billion will be needed to dredge the two stretches totalling 500 kilometres of the protocol route over next seven years.
India will bear 80 per cent of the total expenses while Bangladesh 20 per cent if the Indian proposal is accepted, he said.
Navigation buoys and lights will also be installed under the project.
Mr Haque said an international tender will be floated soon for the dredging work keeping open the options to carryout the work either Bangladesh or India alone or jointly.
Both the countries will monitor the work to ensure its quality, he noted.
Officials said India has been paying Tk 100 million since 2013 as maintenance fee of the protocol route. Before that it was paying Tk 55 million for the same. Started with only Tk 27,000 in 1972 the amount now reached to Tk 100 million after 41 years.
Mr Haque said India pays the royalty for maintenance of two portions of the protocol route through which only the Indian goods-laden vessels ply.
Traffic on river routes is mostly one-way–India to Bangladesh-in carrying bilateral trade cargo. Fly ash is the single-largest import through river routes.
Meanwhile, India also has proposed that Article 27 of the PIWTT be amended to include Pangaon Inland Container Terminal in Bangladesh and Dhubri river port in India as 'Ports of Call'.
With this inclusion the number of 'Ports of Call' will be six on both sides. Presently, the designated 'Ports of Call' in Indian are Kolkata, Haldia, Karimganj, Pandu, and Silghat while in Bangladesh Narayanganj, Khulna, Mongla, Sirajganj, and Ashuganj.
Besides, India also proposed amendment to Article 15 of the protocol allowing crew members of vessels, possessing a valid passport but having no visa, to embark and disembark at the identified ports of call and bunkering stations in both the countries for 72 hours on completion of immigration and customs formalities.
The two-way trade between Bangladesh and India amounted to over US$6.0 billion. In fiscal year 2015-16 Bangladesh exported goods worth $689 million to India and imported goods worth $5.452 billion from there.
Bangladesh mainly exports woven garments, knitwear, home textiles, agricultural products, frozen foods, leather and leather products, footwear, raw jute, jute goods, and bicycle.
On the other hand, the imports include cotton, cotton yarn, cotton fabrics, vehicles, nuclear reactor, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, cereals, edible vegetables, iron and steel.
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Source: The Financial Express