Staff Correspondent

State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said that currently foreign port managers are investing in Chittagong Port. I see possibilities and dreams, the time will come when Chattogram Port will manage the activities of any other country in the world.

He said this while speaking as the chief guest at the 'Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Chittagong Port and Abu Dhabi Ports Group regarding construction of multipurpose terminal including Bay-Terminal Project of Chittagong Port' at Hotel Westin in the capital on Thursday.

Officials of the project said that the official operation of the terminal is scheduled to start in 2026 with a target of handling 5 million containers per year.

The senior secretary of the Ministry of Shipping spoke among others. Mustafa Kamal, Chairman of Chittagong Port Rear Admiral Mohammad Sohail, UAE Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Kasif Al Moudi, Regional Chief Executive Officer of International Office of Abu Dhabi Ports Group Ahmed Al Mutaya.

Chittagong Port Chairman Rear Admiral Mohammad Sohail and Abu Dhabi Ports Group Chief Executive Officer Saif Al Mazrui signed the memorandum of understanding.

According to the MoU, 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.

Stating that Chittagong port has achieved international port capacity in the last 15 years, the state minister said, Mongla port is being upgraded. 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 for mother vessel transportation. Currently a deep sea port is being constructed at Matarbari. This will reduce dependency. Matarbari port will become a regional 'hub'.

Khalid Mahmud said that an agreement has been signed with Red Sea Gateway Terminal of Saudi Arabia to operate the Patenga container terminal of Chittagong port and its operations will start very soon. If the bay terminal is built, ships will come and go 24 hours a day. No need to wait for low tide. There will be road, rail connectivity with the bay terminal. Transportation of goods will be easy.

He said that B Terminal will open up new horizons in the field of sea transportation in Bangladesh. We want to start the construction of the multipurpose terminal of the terminal in a short time.

According to the project document, with the aim of increasing the capacity of Chittagong Port, the initiative to construct 'Bay-Terminal' on the shores of Bay of Bengal was taken. After that feasibility study and master plan was prepared after appointing consultant in 2017. 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 the 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 length is likely to be financed by PSA, Singapore and another by DP World, Dubai. World Bank will dredging 6 km long breakwater and access channel. 66.85 acres of private land has already been acquired for the Bay Terminal Project and 500.69 acres of public land has been acquired by the government. There is possibility of World Bank investment for construction of breakwater