The caretaker government will review the Bay Terminal project, the biggest expansion project in the history of Chattogram port.
The mega project, approved by the recently deposed Awami League government, has seen little progress since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina unveiled the master plan on November 14 last year.
For all the latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. Apart from some preliminary digging to prepare the ground, there has been no physical progress so far.
Now the new government wants to thoroughly evaluate the necessity of such a large project, for which global port operators have already expressed their willingness to invest over $8 billion, according to sources.
The interim government wants to evaluate the necessity of such a large project, for which global port operators expressed their willingness to invest over 8 billion dollars
The Ministry of Shipping has called a high-powered meeting on November 10 in this regard and invited senior officials from various government agencies and representatives of development partners for detailed discussions.
It also asked the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) to present a detailed presentation of the project and its progress so far.
Brig Gen (retd) Dr M Sakhawat Hussain, Adviser to Ministry of Shipping, will preside over the meeting.
Top officials from the Ministry of Shipping, Public Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) and officials as well as the Chairman of CPA will be present.
Representatives of interested investors, including the World Bank, will also attend the meeting.
Contacted, CPA Secretary Md Omar Faruk confirmed that the ministry called the meeting to discuss the project.
During a visit to the port last month, the shipping adviser inspected various project sites, including the Bay Terminal site. He was also briefed about the projects by port officials during a meeting.
Speaking to journalists during the visit, the adviser said he did not see any problems with the project but added that he would need to discuss it further.
He also said that he would ask the CPA officials to present a detailed presentation on the project at the ministry later.
A senior CPA official said the move was part of the interim government’s ongoing evaluation of various mega projects approved by the previous regime.
So the ministry wants to evaluate the project in detail before taking the next step, the official added.
The previous government approved the establishment of Bay Terminal, consisting of four terminals, on about 2,500 acres of land at Patenga on the coast of the Bay of Bengal.
It is expected that once the project is completed, vessels with a draft of up to 12 meters and a length of 280 meters will be able to dock there.
Currently, Chittagong Port – which is the maritime gateway for over 90 percent of the country’s international trade volume and 98 percent of its container traffic – can only accommodate small feeder vessels during limited hours of the day.
In 2022, PPPA appointed UK-based Ernst & Young LLP as transaction advisor for the project.
In June this year, the World Bank Board approved a $650 million loan to finance the dredging of the access channel and the construction of the breakwater at Bay Terminal.
In mid-May, CPA signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Abu Dhabi-based AD Ports Group regarding the latter’s proposal to build a multi-purpose terminal under the project.
The group earlier offered to invest $1 billion in this regard.
The previous government also had an agreement with PSA Singapore and DP World of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to build and operate two container terminals.
PSA Singapore and DP World pledged to invest $1.5 billion each for the terminals.
Local company East Coast Holdings Limited also proposed to join hands with some global companies to invest $3.5 billion to build an oil and gas terminal under the project.
Since the ouster of the Awami League government on August 5, work on the project has almost stopped.
