The newly built Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) at Chattogram Port, which is expected to come into operation in January next, will enhance the total handling capacity of the country’s premier seaport by 17% annually, say officials concerned.

A deal is likely to be signed with Saudi firm Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) by December this year for operating the terminal.

The officials associated with the project said the process of appointing the terminal operator has almost completed and the firm will start mobilising equipment once the deal is inked.

They expressed the hope that the firm will start the terminal operation in January next.

The fully-fledged terminal was constructed to improve the port capacity to cope with the future challenges. Work on the terminal completed in June last year.

The government is going to appoint the foreign firm for the first time to operate a port terminal in the country.

Contacted, Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) Secretary Omar Faruk told the Daily Sun that the appointment of the operator under government-to-government framework by the Private Public Partnership (PPP) Authority is at the final stage.

“Negotiations with the firm have been completed. We expect to get the deal signed by December this year,” he said.

Earlier, the CPA appointed International Finance Corporation (IFC) as Transaction Adviser (TA) for laying out the terms and conditions to appoint the operator for the terminal.

Project Director (PD) Md Mizanur Rahman Sarker said the terminal has the capacity of handling some 5 lakh Twenty Equivalent Unit (TEU) containers per year.

In addition, a 16-acre area near the Rubi Cement Factory will be used as the backup yard for the terminal. It will increase the total handling capacity of the terminal to 7-7.5 lakh TEUs per year, he said.

“Consequently, the new terminal will enhance the overall container handling capacity of the port by around 17% annually,” said the PD.

Sources said the terminal will help reduce the turnaround time of vessels at the outer anchorage of the port.

Besides, it will allow vessels with 10.5-metre draft and 190-metre length against highest 10-metre draft at the existing jetties.

As it is situated some seven kilometres ahead of the existing port jetties, it will also reduce time and cost for the vessel movement.  

The terminal was developed on 26 acres of land near the Chattogram Dry Dock and Chattogram Boat Club in the city’s Patenga area.

It will be able to handle three container vessels at a time while there will have facilities for offloading liquid cargo at a separate dolphin jetty.

Shore protection wall, yard, flyover, road, administrative building, CFS shed, mechanical workshop, power substation, fire service station, fuel station and other modern facilities were developed so that the terminal can run without support from elsewhere.

Bangladesh Army’s 34 Engineer Construction Brigade implemented the project. A memorandum of understanding in this regard was signed on 23 November 2017.

The project work was slowed down due the coronavirus pandemic and some other complexities, said the sources.

The government approved the project on 13 June 2017. The deadline for implementation of the project at an estimated cost of Tk1,868 crore from the port’s own fund was set for December 2019.

But, a revised DPP was approved later and the entire work was completed in June last year at a cost of around Tk1,147 crore after dropping some components, including procurement of equipment for the terminal.

Besides, the government gave approval in principle to the project “Equip, Operate and Maintain PCT on PPP Model” in March 2021 to appoint an operator for the terminal.

Several international firms, including Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) of Saudi Arabia, Dubai Port World (DP World) of the United Arab Emirates, Adani Port and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) of India, PSA of Singapore and APM of Denmark expressed their interests in operating and investing in the terminal, said sources.

There are three more terminals -- General Cargo Berth, Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT) and New-mooring Container Terminal (NCT) -- and four dolphin jetties at the port at present.

It handled 3,007,344 TEUs container and 118,296,743 tonnes of cargo in 2022-2023 fiscal year.