Rear Admiral M Shahjahan, Chairman of Chittagong Port Authority, said the capacity of Chittagong Port will increase three to four times once the construction of the bay terminal and Matarbari deep-sea terminal is completed. Matarbari deep seaport will be a sub-regional hub.
The Chairman of the port said this while exchanging views with journalists on Sunday (24 April) afternoon, the day before Port Day. Port Day is celebrated on 25 April every year.
‘We are now dependent on the ports of Colombo, Port Klang, and Singapore,’ he said. If the Matarbari terminal is completed then we don’t have to depend on others.
He said that ships with a draft of 12 metres (the distance between the waterline and the deepest point of the boat) will be docked at the bay terminal. Ships with a draft of 18 metres and a length of 300 metres will be able to enter Matarbari’s deep seaport. These ships can carry 10 to 12 thousand TEUs containers.
Regarding the significant progress of the two projects, Rear Admiral M Shahjahan said that 283 acres of land have been handed over to the port authority by the Cox’s Bazar district administration for the Matarbari port development project. Tenders for construction work will be called soon.
He also said that the 67-acre privately owned land for the bay terminal project has been cleared, adding that a request has been made to the Ministry of Lands through the Ministry of Shipping to allocate another 803 acres of land in favour of the port at a nominal price.
Director (Transport) Enamul Karim presented a report on the progress of cargo, container, and ship handling and development projects at the port.
Port member (Finance) Md. Kamrul Amin, member (Harbour and Marine) Commodore Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman, member (Engineering) Captain Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman were present during the exchange of views along with port directors, secretaries, divisional heads, and sub-divisional heads.
