The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) on Monday signed a landmark concession agreement with Netherlands-based APM Terminals BV for the development and operation of the Laldia Container Terminal in Chattogram.

Shipping Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain attended the signing ceremony as the chief guest held at a city hotel.

Also present were Lina Gandløse Hansen, state secretary for trade and investment at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Christian Brix Møller, ambassador of Denmark to Bangladesh; Robert Maersk Uggla, chairman of the Maersk board; and Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, CEO of the Public Private Partnership Authority (PPPA), who chaired the event.

APM Terminals, a unit of Danish shipping conglomerate AP Moller – Maersk, will manage the terminal for 30 years under a Public–Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. Under the concession, the company will oversee the full lifecycle of the greenfield project, including design, financing, construction and operation.

The firm will invest an initial $550 million (around Tk6,700 crore) over the next three years for construction, equipment procurement and associated costs. This is regarded as one of the largest single European equity investments in Bangladesh to date.

APM Terminals will also pay Tk250 crore to the CPA as signing money.

Maersk Chairman Robert Maersk Uggla said the Laldia terminal is expected to come into operation between 2028 and 2030. Ownership of the port facility will remain with the Chittagong Port Authority.

The agreement includes a revenue-sharing mechanism to ensure financial returns for the CPA. APM Terminals will pay the authority $21 for every 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) handled. If annual throughput exceeds 900,000 TEUs, the rate will rise to $23 per TEU, with the rate gradually decreasing beyond that volume.

PPPA CEO Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun said the revenue structure was designed to safeguard the CPA from any financial losses. Once operational, the terminal is expected to add more than 800,000 TEUs to the port’s annual handling capacity, easing congestion and boosting overall efficiency.

The partnership is expected to introduce advanced port technologies and global best practices, contributing to the modernisation of Bangladesh’s maritime logistics sector.