The Payra sea port’s first terminal is expected to be up and running by October, facilitating transport of goods from mother vessels, and speeding up operations in the country’s third major seaport.
The terminal, built on the banks of the Rabnabad channel, will have the capacity to simultaneously load three 200-metre-long mother vessels. The 650-metre main terminal will have a 3.25 lakh square metre backup yard and a 10,000 square metre container freight station facility. Two more terminals are also under construction.
With Belgian company Jan De Nul completing capital dredging on the country’s deepest channel in March this year, mother vessels began using the jetty at the Payra thermal power plant adjacent to the Payra port.
Initially, goods will be transported from the first terminal by road via a bridge over the Andharmanik River, said Payra Port Authority Deputy Director (Traffic) Azizur Rahman. But ferry services will soon be introduced to ease the movement of heavy vehicles, he said.
Another 1.12km bridge is also being constructed over the Andharmanik River, Rahman said, adding that work on a six-lane 6.35-km road was also proceeding rapidly.
Marking buoys fitted with lights have been installed at an anchorage which can accommodate 15 ships alongside the loading and unloading of goods.
Till August, Payra Port Authority earned Tk 913.19 crore in revenues from 339 foreign commercial ships and 1,459 domestic lighterage vessels using the port’s under-construction facilities.
