The construction of the 600-metre long Patenga container terminal, which is expected to take the pressure off the Chittagong port, will be complete by the end of 2019, the chairman of the Chittagong Port Authority said yesterday.

“A new jetty is a must to cope with the ever increasing growth in cargo, container as well as vessel traffic,” CPA Chairman M Khaled Iqbal said at a meeting with journalists on the eve of 130th Chittagong Port Day.

The Chittagong port has been experiencing 16 to 17 percent growth in cargo and container handling in the last few years, according to Iqbal.

“If the new jetty is not ready by 2019, this growth rate would come down and that would have the ultimate cascading effect on overall economy.”

A number of projects have been undertaken in the last one year to enhance the capacity and efficiency of the port, he said.

Emphasis is being given on the Patenga terminal, which would have three jetties, yards and rail link, as the other three big projects -- Karnaphuli container terminal, Laldia multipurpose terminal and bay terminal -- can only be partially completed before 2021.

The CPA has requested the government to construct the terminal through the direct procurement method for timely completion.

The existing 13 jetties of general cargo berth area would be reconstructed as the Karnaphuli container terminal, he said, adding that contracts for the Tk 2 billion-project are likely to be awarded by 2018.

Though the Chittagong port has been used as a harbour since 400 BC, it formally started its journey as a port on April 25 in 1887.