The Crime Desk: State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury MP said that currently, foreign port managers are investing in Chittagong port. I see the possibility and dream that a time will come when Chittagong Port will handle the operations of any other country in the world.
The state minister said these things in his speech as the chief guest at the ‘Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Chittagong Port and Abu Dhabi Ports Group regarding the construction of a multipurpose terminal, including the Bay-Terminal Project of Chittagong Port’ at Hotel Westin in Dhaka on Thursday, May 16.
Among others, the senior secretary of the Ministry of Shipping spoke at the event. Mustafa Kamal, Chairman of Chittagong Port Rear Admiral Mohammad Sohail, UAE Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Kasif Al Moudi, and Regional Chief Executive Officer of the International Office of Abu Dhabi Ports Group Ahmed Al Mutaya.
The MoU was signed by Chittagong Port Chairman Rear Admiral Mohammad Sohail and Abu Dhabi Ports Group Chief Executive Officer Saif Al Mazrui. According to the MoU, the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Ports Group will invest in the construction of a multipurpose terminal, including the Bay-Terminal project. Apart from infrastructure development, they will also procure machinery.
The State Minister said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has revived and energized our journey in the maritime sector along the path of Bangabandhu. During his time, new horizons were created in the fields of sea and cargo transportation. Chittagong Port has achieved international port capacity in the last 15 years. The upgrade of Mongla Port is going on. Mongla Port will achieve the same capacity as Chittagong Port. 200-meter-long ships crowded the jetty under construction at Payra Port. It’s a new feeling. Earlier, we had to depend on Colombo and Singapore ports to transport goods by mother vessels. Currently, a deep-sea port is being constructed at Matarbari. This will reduce dependency. Matarbari Port will become a regional ‘hub’. An agreement has been signed with Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Gateway Terminal to operate the Patenga Container Terminal at Chittagong Port. Its activities will start soon. If the bay terminal is built, ships will arrive and depart 24 hours a day. There is no need to wait for low tide. Chittagong Port will move to a different height. There will be road and rail connectivity with the bay terminal. The transportation of goods will be easy.
Not only for the port of Abu Dhabi, our window is open. I will provide all kinds of facilities for investment in any port in the country. Beterminal will open up new horizons in sea transportation in Bangladesh. We want to start the construction of the multipurpose terminal in a short time.
It should be noted that with the aim of increasing the capacity of Chittagong Port, the initiative of constructing ‘Bay-Terminal’ on the shore of the Bay of Bengal on the south side of Chittagong city was taken. A consultant was hired in 2017 for the feasibility study after the plan to construct the ‘Bay-Terminal’ was accepted. The feasibility study and master plan are prepared by the consulting firm. The final master plan was unveiled by the Prime Minister on November 14 last year. According to the survey, the master plan has a total of three terminals, including two container terminals of 1,225 meters and a multipurpose terminal of 1,500 meters. The length of the three terminals is 4.95 km. A total of 11 jetties are proposed in the master plan. Due to the adequate navigability of the channel, ships of 12 m draft and 300 m length can be accommodated there. A six-kilometer-long breakwater or breakwater will be constructed to protect against weather and large ocean waves. The distance from Bay-Terminal to the outer anchorage is one kilometer.
The multipurpose terminal will be jointly constructed by Chittagong Port and Abu Dhabi Ports Group. One container terminal of 1,225 meters in length is likely to be financed by PSA Singapore and another by DP World Dubai. The World Bank will dig a 6-kilometer-long breakwater and access channel. 66.85 acres of privately owned land have already been acquired for the Bay Terminal project, and 500.69 acres of public land have been approved by the government. There is a possibility of World Bank investment in the construction of breakwaters. It is likely to go into operation in 2026, with a target of 5 million container handlings per year.
