An Inland Container Depot (ICD) is being set up at Dhirashram in Gazipur to cut the uncertainty in investments, where containers will be brought directly from Chattogram port by rail. One of the three projects that has been put on the government’s priority list to speed up the port is the ICD at Dhirashram. The implementation of this project has been prioritise in the recent meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office. It was informed at that meeting that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will invest in this important project. Confirming the matter, Additional Director General (Infrastructure) of Railways Dhirandranath Majumder said, “Although the plan was approved a long time ago, the project could not be implemented because there weren’t any investors. Now we have found investors. The ADB has also agreed to invest in the project. The Prime Minister’s Office is prioritising the implementation of the project.”
If the ICD is built at Dhirashram, trains carrying containers will be able to travel without entering the capital. If transit with India, Nepal, and Bhutan starts, the containers brought from those countries can be kept at this ICD. Besides, after the construction of Padma Bridge is complete, container trains will be able to operate on the Dhaka-Mongla route. There will be no need to enter Dhaka to transport containers from Chattogram or Mongla to the north. The ICD at Dhirashram will be an important container depot for the country and in international trade.
