The two Korean consulting firms are signing an agreement with the port on Tuesday (31 May) to oversee the master plan, detail drawing design, and construction work of the Chittagong port’s priority project Bay Terminal project. The agreement will be signed with Kunhwa Engineering and Consulting Company Limited and Dai Yang Engineering Company Limited at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dhaka.
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury will be the chief guest at the signing ceremony, and Shipping Secretary Md. Mostafa Kamal will be present as a special guest. Chittagong Port Chairman Rear Admiral M Shahjahan will preside over the function.
Under the agreement, the two companies will oversee the detailed drawing design, tender document preparation, and construction work of the bay terminal. The two companies will design the detailed drawing in 6 months in the first phase. They will oversee the construction work for the next two and a half years. The Chittagong Port Authority will spend Tk 126 crores 49 lacs 73 thousand and 986 on these works.
Earlier, on 7 April, the Cabinet Committee on Public Procurement approved a proposal to appoint a consulting firm.
A total of 3 terminals will be constructed under the project. One of them will be constructed and operated with the funding of the Chittagong Port Authority. The remaining two terminals will be built on a PPP basis with foreign investment.
At present, ships more than 9 and a half metres deep and 190 metres in length cannot enter Chittagong port. The Bay Terminal will be able to accommodate ships up to 12 metres deep and 280 metres long. There will be no need to rely on the ebb and flow for docking.
Now the ships dock at the jetty based on the tides at the port. At the Bay Terminal, ships will be able to dock and set sail from the jetty day and night. They won’t have to rely on tides. This will save on transportation costs and a lot of time. The width of the channel is a minimum of 800 to maximum of 1200 metres.
