Bangladesh building 'Sheikh Hasina Cantonment' to add coastal areas to national defence system

Bangladesh is going to build a cantonment named after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on a shoal in the coastal district of Patuakhali on the bank of the Payra River.

The government will fund around Tk 17 billion project to set up the cantonment on a 1,532-acre land on the shoal that rose after 1975.

The proposal on setting up the cantonment would be placed at Tuesday's meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council or ECNEC, a Panning Commission official with knowledge of the matter told bdnews24.com on Monday.

According to the proposal, the project is part of the government's Forces Goal 2030, a long-term modernisation scheme for Bangladesh Armed Forces. 

It says the project mainly aims to add the coastal areas to the national defence system.

Prime Minister Hasina, in charge of the defence ministry, gave the green light to the project in 2014.