CHATTOGRAM, Nov 08: The Shipping Ministry will review the mega project of "Bay Terminal of Chittagong Port" for further action plan this month.
Shipping Adviser Brigadier General M Shakhawat Hossain, also a retired brigadier general, is scheduled to hold a meeting on November 10 with top-ranking officials of the World Bank, the Port Authority of Singapore (PSA), DP World, PPP and Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) as well as responsible officials of the ministry at its conference room to review the project.
During a visit to Chittagong Port on October 8, Shipping Adviser M Shakhawat Hossain said, "The government will look into the irregularities related to the leases of various facilities including the terminals and land of Chittagong Port. All contracts will be scrutinised. Decisions and work plans will be made after careful review."
Although the groundbreaking ceremony of the project was scheduled to commence this year, it is likely to start next year.
Previously, the CPA planned to construct three terminals, but there will now be a total of four terminals, including a gas and oil terminal.
The master plan of the project has been prepared by the two South Korean consulting firms, "Kun Hwa Engineering and Consulting Company Limited" and "Daeyoung Engineering Company Limited", which had been appointed in April 2022.
On June 28, the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank approved USD 650 million to support the development of the Bay Terminal, which will significantly improve Bangladesh's global trade competitiveness and reduce import and export costs by increasing port operational efficiency and mobilizing private investment.
Earlier, on May 16, Abu Dhabi Ports Group (AD Ports) committed to investing $1 billion for the much-anticipated multipurpose project by signing a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the CPA.
It may be mentioned that the CPA decided to establish the new terminal on an area of 900 acres in Patenga equipped with all modern facilities.
The terminal which is expected to contribute to 2 to 3 per cent growth in the national economy will allow big ships, which cannot berth at the jetties of Chittagong Port now.
The Bay Terminal is likely to be operational by 2026, increasing the port's container handling capacity up to 5 Million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) per year from the current capacity of 3.1 million TEUs.
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