The role of Bangladeshi seaports in connecting 21st century maritime silk road and silk road economic belt to implement OBOR ( One Belt, One Road) initiative of China

Abstract

The strategic place of Bangladesh in the proposed 21st century maritime Silk Road will attract the international traders where port transport service may offer to the neighbor countries for establishing industry also reducing shipping cost significantly. The objective of the OBOR initiative that proposed by China is to address the common needs of transport access for all and launch a new global transport networks by the combination of surface and water transportation system. In the aim of connecting two transport modes of OBOR, intermodal freight transportation system has a role to join two nodes of two modes to cover the line from Bangladesh to China and bid maritime logistics to the adjacent industry and offer for setting new industry to follow the easy access of seaports in Bangladesh. In this connection, Bangladesh has opportunity to draw lines from its seaports to China economy road by direct road haulage, road and rail, water and road combination to facilitate the port transport service. To follow the intermodal freight transportation system, it is possible to connect with India, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar where Bangladesh can do transport business with them and able to develop the area of those countries that are landlocked especially seven sisters of India and south-west part of China and southern part of Myanmar predictably. Recent initiative of India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh’s motor vehicles agreement (BBIN) is indicating cargo movement among the four South Asian neighbors for a common transport policy to develop the region where OBOR will play a vital role to connect all countries of the South Asia especially cost effective maritime access through Bangladeshi seaports. This paper tried to find out the secure access to and from the Bangladeshi seaports by all means of transport as per OBOR initiative of China by following two-fold research methodology qualitative and quantitative.