Staff Correspondent

The Red Sea Gateway Terminal International (RSGT), a Saudi company, and Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) will sign a concession agreement on Wednesday to manage and operate the Patenga Container Terminal.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Saudi Investment Minister Khalid A. Al-Falih will witness the signing ceremony scheduled to be held at the Prime Minister’s Office, a senior official told UNB news agency.

Before the event, the Saudi minister will have a courtesy meeting with the prime minister at her office.

It will be the first foreign company to receive Bangladesh’s offer to operate its ports.

RSGT is an international terminal operator representing a partnership between the Red Sea Gateway Terminal of Saudi Arabia and the Malaysian Mining Company (MMC).

The combined assets, handling capacity and experience place the terminal operations among the ten largest container terminal operators globally, with a combined annual handling capacity of 20 million TEUs, and equity-weighted throughput of over 10 million TEUs.

In May this year in Doha, Saudi Arabia offered to make large-scale investments in various sectors of Bangladesh as the country has a stable government and good record of economic growth.

Saudi Arabian Minister of Investment Khalid A. Al-Faliah and Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim came up with the offer when they jointly called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her place of residence in Doha recently.

Welcoming increased interest from Saudi Arabia to invest in Bangladesh, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has recently said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has emerged as a valued development partner.

"We hope that Bangladesh-Saudi relations will grow from strength to strength and move forward to the mutual benefits of our two peoples," he said, commending the ambassador for his active and dynamic roles in strengthening cooperation and bilateral engagements to new dimensions.