Bay Terminal project inches forward

After seeing very little progress over the past one and a half years, the Bay Terminal project at the Chattogram port is expected to gain momentum as a development project proposal (DPP) for three crucial components is expected to be placed soon.

According to port officials, once the DPP is approved, a loan agreement with the World Bank will follow, enabling physical work to start.

Md Omar Faruk, secretary of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), hoped that the DPP would be placed for approval at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on April 20.

The much-discussed port expansion project has seen little progress since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina unveiled the masterplan on November 14, 2023.

The CPA only submitted the revised DPP of the Bay Terminal Marine Infrastructure Development Project last week, incorporating three crucial components. These include the construction of a breakwater, access channel and navigational aids, and developing hinterland connectivity as well as common facilities.

The total cost of this project is primarily estimated at Tk 13,000 crore and it will take seven years for completion. The cost of the fist two components -- the construction of breakwater, access channel and navigational aids -- is estimated at Tk 10,000 crore. The World Bank has already pledged $650 million to finance these two major components.

A senior CPA official engaged with the project said the CPA will spend Tk 3,000 crore from its own fund for the third component, which is developing hinterland connectivity and common facilities.

Internal road connectivity, a drainage system synchronised with the port city's drainage, a service jetty, and some buildings will be developed under the third component.

The Bay Terminal, featuring two container terminals and a multi-purpose terminal, will be able to handle around 5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers, adding to the port's current capacity of 3.2 million TEUs.

CPA Member (engineer) Commodore Kaosar Rashid said the DPP of this project was reviewed at a pre-Ecnec meeting last month, where CPA was asked for some corrections.

He said they submitted the corrected DPP to the shipping ministry on April 6 while the ministry forwarded it to the planning ministry the following day.

Senior officials from the planning ministry and Economic Relations Division (ERD) visited the proposed site of the project on April 12 and expressed satisfaction, Rashid said.

Currently, vessels carrying 1,800-2,000 TEUs of containers can berth at the existing jetties of the port as vessel movement on the Karnaphuli channel is limited during high tide.

The Bay Terminal, with its 12-14 metres deep channel, will allow vessels carrying 5,000-6,000 containers to navigate around the clock.

The previous government had an understanding with PSA Singapore and DP World of the UAE to construct and operate two container terminals under the Bay Terminal. PSA Singapore and DP World each pledged to invest $1.5 billion for the terminals.

In mid-May last year, the CPA signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi-based AD Ports Group regarding the latter's proposal to build a multipurpose terminal under the project.

A senior CPA official said the approval of DPP for the initial project would pave the way for progressing negotiations with the interested global firms to build the terminals.