No plan to hand over Ctg Port to foreign operator: Minister

Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam on Wednesday told parliament that the government has no plan to hand over the Chittagong Port to any foreign operator.
"There is no plan to hand over the Chittagong Port to any foreign operator," he said, while replying to a tabled question from treasury bench member Shahadat Hossain (Lakshmipur-1), reports UNB.
Earlier, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad tabled the question-and-answer session for the ministers on the completion of the question-and-answer session for the Prime Minister at the beginning of the Wednesday's sitting of Parliament.

The shipping minister clarified that operators are appointed only for operating terminals of a port in case of arrangements specified or approved by the Public-Private Partnership Authority or the government. "In such cases, both local and foreign operators are considered eligible," he said.
In line with ongoing modernisation and the growing volume of the country's import-export trade, different terminals of the ports are being operated by both local and foreign operators to enhance capacity, he said.
Citing an example, he said the Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) of the port is being operated by a foreign operator.
Besides, an agreement has been signed with APM Terminals BV, a subsidiary of the Marks Group in Denmark, under the PPP method for the construction and operation of the Laldia Container Terminal at Laldia Char on the right bank of the Karnaphuli River, he added.
Noting that Chittagong Port is an autonomous institution, he said the institution is run by a board headed by a chairman, and also officers/employees of the agency as per the Chittagong Port Authority Act, 2022.
Moreover, the Chittagong Port Authority follows the government's instructions and also the policy decisions taken by the government from time to time, said the Minister.
Responding to another question, the shipping minister said the Payra Port is expected to be fully operational by early 2027 following completion of the unfinished works.
"Once these works are completed that means the port is expected to be fully operational at the beginning of next year," he said while replying to a scripted question from treasury bench member ABM Mosharrof Hossain (Patuakhali-4).
The minister said as the first seaport in post-independence Bangladesh in 2015, a Techno-Economic Feasibility Study for the construction of Payra Port was completed by UK-based consultancy HR Wallingford.
He said two long-term projects were undertaken in 2016 to acquire land and rehabilitate the affected people in 2019 and to construct the first terminal of Payra Port including connecting roads and bridges. "The two projects will be completed in July and December this year respectively," he said.
Rabiul said the construction of 1180-m four-lane bridge over the Andharmanik River and 6.35-km six-lane terminal connection road to connect the port's jetty to the Dhaka-Kuakata Road is almost at its final stage and will be completed by December 2026.
He, however, said the channel called 'Rabnabad Channel' for entering the port is currently not deep enough for commercial ships to enter.
He further said dredging will have to be done to open the port and since the area is prone to silting, dredging will have to be continued uninterruptedly throughout the year.
Currently, the government is considering a project proposal for dredging the Rabnabad Channel for two years and purchasing two Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHD) during this period, he added.
The shipping minister said some 96 per cent of the country's total sea trade is handled through Chittagong Port.
The need for a new port is undeniable to meet the pressure of the country's growing foreign trade, he said.