Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority Member (Planning and Operation) and Joint Secretary Md. Sajedur Rahman visited Sultanganj Port in Godagari Upazila of Rajshahi. He visited the port at around 10 am on Friday (June 12). BIWTA Director AKM Arif Uddin was present with him.
The businessmen at the port greeted him with flowers. He visited the port office, the goods unloading area. He also saw the river. After the inspection, he said, there are some conditions for starting the port. All those conditions have been met. A beautiful office has also been built here. I will go and inform the NBR about the issues. I will recommend that this port be started as soon as possible.
BIWTA Director AKM Arif Uddin said, there are all kinds of facilities here. Now we are just waiting for the final approval of the NBR. Hopefully, the approval will be given soon. Stone importer Aminul Islam said, traders have developed all kinds of infrastructure at this seaport on their own initiative. Cargo ships have also been brought and kept there. Our products are also stuck there. We are losing money on the products. He further said, lakhs of tons of stone from India have to be brought to Bangladesh by road or train. This also costs more. If the stone can be brought by sea, the cost will be reduced a lot. Besides, this sea route will play a major role in the economy of Bangladesh. During the rainy season, two to two and a half thousand tons of cargo ships will be able to travel. And during the dry season, it will stand at 700 to 800 tons. Six decades ago, trade was carried out on the Dhulian sea route from Sultanganj in Rajshahi to Murshidabad in West Bengal. But in 1965, due to various internal reasons including the Indo-Pakistan war, the waterway and river port were closed. An initiative was taken to restart trade on that waterway after a long 59 years on February 12, 2024. The operation lasted only 10 days after its launch. Since then, this port has been closed. Stone and garment goods were imported and exported in five vessels. On August 1, 2025, Sakhawat Hossain, the shipping advisor to the interim government, visited the Sultanganj river port and gave instructions to develop the infrastructure and launch it quickly. But it has not been implemented yet. Despite repeated assurances of launch, this port has not seen the light of day.
Importers and exporters complain that despite river dredging and necessary infrastructure construction, the fate of the Sonamasjid land port in Chapainawabganj is hanging in the balance due to the Panama and NBR’s lack of interest in the port. Entrepreneurs are also ready to invest in infrastructure construction as demanded by the National Board of Revenue and Customs. Business leaders say that the port has stalled due to the lack of goodwill of the administration. However, BIWTA is optimistic about the port despite some delay.
According to the information search, the distance between Sultanganj in Godagari Upazila of Rajshahi and Maya Port in Murshidabad, India is only 18 kilometers. If this waterway is opened, raw materials for making cement, stone, marble, mineral sand, and various types of food items will come to Bangladesh from India. In addition to textiles, fish, jute and jute products, various agricultural products will go to India from Bangladesh.
These products are mainly imported to Bangladesh by road and rail through various land ports. This takes a lot of time and cost. The Sultanganj seaport will reduce the time and cost of importing these products from India. This will benefit the country’s businessmen.