Bangladesh Approves Over One Billion Taka Bay Terminal Expansion Project For Largest Seaport

DHAKA, Apr 21 (NNN-BSS) – Bangladesh’s highest economic policy-making body, approved a bay terminal expansion project, worth over one billion taka (about 700 million U.S. dollars) for the country’s largest Chattogram seaport, a senior official said here, yesterday.

Md Omar Faruk, secretary of Bangladesh’s Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), said that, the Bay Terminal Marine Infrastructure Development Project, was approved at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), chaired by Chief Adviser of the Bangladeshi interim government, Muhammad Yunus.

He said, the CPA will now go for floating international tenders, to engage contractors for the marine infrastructure development.

Of the total 135.25 billion taka project cost, he said, 41.92 billion taka will come from the CPA’s own funds, while the remaining 93.33 billion taka is expected from foreign loans.

According to the official, the World Bank has already approved 650 million dollars for the construction of a wave-preventing breakwater, and dredging of the access channel, two major components of the project.

The project features two container terminals and a multipurpose terminal, spanning around four km along the coastline of the Bay of Bengal, in Chattogram city, some 242 km south-east of the capital, Dhaka.

According to project documents, a total of 13 jetties will be constructed, and to protect the terminal from rough sea conditions, a 6.217-km breakwater will be built.

The Port of Chattogram, located on the Karnaphuli River in south-eastern Bangladesh, is the largest and busiest port in the country. It handles around 90 percent of Bangladesh’s entire international seaborne trade. (1 U.S. dollar equals about 122 taka).

– NNN-BSS