State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury has expressed the hope that the Chattogram port will one day handle the export-import activities of other countries with its capacity increasing day by day.

“Now, foreign port operators are making investment in the Chattogram port. I see the possibility and harbour a dream that a time will come when the Chattogram port will handle the operations [export-import] of another country as well,” he said.

The state minister was speaking at an event, marking the signing of a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the AD Ports Group of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), at a hotel in Dhaka on Thursday.

CPA Chairman Rear Admiral Mohammad Sohail and AD Ports Group Chief Executive Officer (Ports Cluster) Saif Al Mazrouei inked the MoU on cooperation related to the Bay Terminal Project, including the multipurpose terminal.

The Abu Dhabi-based ports and logistics giant will invest $1 billion to construct and equip the multi-purpose terminal under the project.

Khalid Mahmud said, “The Chattogram port has achieved the world standard capacity in the last 15 years, while the Mongla port is being upgraded and it’ll achieve the same capacity too. Besides, ships with 200 metres in length are anchored at the under-construction jetty at the Payra port.”

“Earlier, we had to depend on Colombo and Singapore ports for goods transportation through mother vessels. At present, a deep seaport is being built in Matarbari, which will reduce the foreign dependency. I hope the Matarbari port will become a regional hub,” he further said.

The state minister said the CPA has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s company Red Sea Gateway Terminal to operate the Patenga Container Terminal, which will be operational soon.

“If the Bay Terminal is built, ships will be able to enter the Chattogram port and depart round the clock.

There’ll be road and railway connectivity with the terminal, which will make goods transportation smooth,” he said.

Khalid Mahmud said, “Our doors are open not only for AD Ports but also for all. We’ll provide all kinds of facilities for investment in any port of the country. The Bay Terminal will open up a new horizon in Bangladesh’s sea transport sector.”

The government has taken the initiative to construct the Bay Terminal to increase the capacity of the Chattogram port. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina unveiled the master plan for the terminal in November last year.

Officials at the Chattogram port said on completion of the project, the Bay Terminal will be able to accommodate vessels up to 12 metres in depth, and ships would no longer depend on the tide for berthing.

Although some 16 ships can anchor simultaneously at the port, on average around 50 ships will be able to berth at the Bay Terminal, they said.

The length of the port jetty is four kilometres while the length of the Bay Terminal will be 6.5 kilometres.

The World Bank will give US$500 million to the CPA for the dredging of the six-kilometre breakwater and channel access.

Tarafder Md Ruhul Amin, managing director of Saif Powertech, the Bangladesh agent of AD Ports Group, said a high-level delegation from the Abu Dhabi-based ports and logistics giant has already visited Chattogram to inspect the site earmarked for the Bay Terminal project.

“They discussed how the ports of the two countries will operate the terminal. AD Ports will initially invest $1 billion to build the terminal,” he added.