State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said that Bangladesh is a role model of development in the world today. Our economic progress today is a surprise to many countries in the world. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina does what she says. We can now say that Bay Terminal is not a dream; it is a reality. Many large canvases have been created in the business. We will soon get the benefits of trade and commerce. The Prime Minister led the country with the spirit of liberation war and Bangabandhu’s vision of building a golden Bengal. Governments after 1975 did not follow that path. If they had followed the path and ruled the country, it would not be a struggle to build a golden Bengal in 2022. The golden Bengal would have been made long ago. Governments after 1975 have run the country unplanned for plunder.
The Minister was speaking at the signing ceremony of an agreement at Hotel Intercontinental in Dhaka on Tuesday (31 May) to finalise the design for the construction of Chittagong port Bay Terminal.
Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said that the Patenga container terminal of Chittagong port is going to be opened soon. Railways will be connected to Bay Terminal and Matarbari seaport; we are moving forward with the plan. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we have become a middle-income country in 2021. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, we will be a developed country by 2041.
The agreement was signed by Rear Admiral M Shahjahan, Chairman of Chittagong Port Authority, and Hwang Kyu Young, President, Kunhwa Engineering and Consulting Company Limited, on behalf of the consulting firms, in the presence of State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury MP. Secretary of the Ministry of Shipping spoke as a special guest. Mostafa Kamal.
The contract was signed for the preparation of a detailed master plan of the Chittagong port Bay Terminal project and consulting services for detailed engineering design, drawing, and estimation of the Multipurpose Terminal under Chittagong port. The consulting firm will also oversee the construction of the Bay Terminal along with the preparation of the master plan of the project. It will cost Tk 126 crores 49 lacs and 73 thousand. The cost of the Bay Terminal project is estimated at 210 crore dollars.
The Bay Terminal is being constructed as a new terminal to increase the handling capacity of Chittagong port. Ships will be able to dock here 24 hours a day. There are no bends in the Bay Terminal channel and due to adequate navigability, it will be possible to berth ships with a maximum carrying capacity of 6,000 TEUs and drafts of 10 to 12 metres. Initially, three terminals will be constructed at Bay Terminal. One will be a 1,225 metres long container terminal (Container Terminal-1), one an 830 metres long container terminal (Container Terminal-2), and one a 1,500 metres long multipurpose terminal will be constructed.
The total length of the three terminals is 3.55 kilometres. The Chittagong Port Authority will be responsible for the construction and operation of the multipurpose terminal. There will be six jetties in this terminal. The Bay Terminal will have a total of 13 jetties. The Bay Terminal will have a multimodal connectivity facility. To the east of the project are Port Access Road and a railroad. At present, the jetties of Chittagong port can accommodate ships with a maximum draft of 9.5 metres and a length of 190 metres. Chittagong port is navigated twice a day depending on the tide. The Bay Terminal is located at North Halishahar, 6 kilometres west of Chittagong port. The distance from the bay terminal to the outer anchorage is only one kilometre. The width of the channel is 800 to 1200 metres.
