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Bangladesh Land Port Authority

department · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head
Mohammad Manzarul Mannan
Role
Chairman
Annual budget
—
Staff
—
Established
2001
Legal basis
Bangladesh Land Ports Authority Act, 2001 (Act No. 20 of 2001), also known as the Bangladesh Sthala Bandar Kartipaksha Ain, 2001.

Managing a network of 24 declared land ports (20 operational, 4 already closed) under the interim government's policy of privatising underperforming ports and closing those that generate no revenue. Four major ports -- Benapole, Hili, Burimari, and Teknaf -- all resumed operations in the February-April 2026 window after election-related and holiday shutdowns on the Indian and Myanmar sides. Bangladesh-India land-port trade remains subject to intermittent India-side disruptions, with diplomacy ongoing to reopen additional closed corridors.

Recent activity

Provenance & notes

BLPA was established under Act No. 20 of 2001 (the Bangladesh Land Ports Authority Act, 2001) and is also known by its Bangla acronym BSBK (Bangladesh Sthala Bandar Kartipaksha). The authority manages 24 declared land ports; 4 have already been closed by the interim government and 4 more closures are under consideration as of August 2025. Of the remaining operational ports, several (including Hili, Teknaf, Benapole Passenger Terminal) are operated on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis through private concessionaires. Head since date is approximate: multiple sources from late 2024 describe Mannan as 'newly appointed' chairman but none give an exact date; 2024-11-01 is a conservative estimate. staff_count omitted: no primary-source figure found across government, trade press, or DUNs directory. annual_budget_bdt omitted: BLPA budget is embedded in Ministry of Shipping ADP allocations and is not disclosed as a standalone figure in accessible public sources. Bholaganj inauguration date: sources cite 'late December 2025' -- BSS News gives December 27, Bangla Mirror gives December 25; the December 25 date (as per Financial Express and BSS Sylhet) is used for the budget_actions entry. Benapole is Bangladesh's largest land port by trade volume (450-500 inbound trucks per day from India); Teknaf is the sole port serving Myanmar trade. All four port-resumption events (Hili February 14, Teknaf/Burimari/Hili April 6, Benapole April 30) are cross-verified from BSS News primary reports.

Sources