The container handling of the Chittagong Port is all set to increase by up to 5 million twenty-foot equivalent units or TEUs/year from the current 3.1 million TEUs once the Bay Terminal becomes operational, besides contributing around 2 to 3 per cent in the growth of the national economy.
Media reports maintained this, adding the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) under the Shipping Ministry has undertaken a project (‘Construction of Bay Terminal’) to this end to increase the capacity of the port even as with the approval of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) has recommended implementation of the project under the PPP (Public Private Partnership) method.
Container handling capacity of the port per year currently is 3.1 million TEUs; the growing demand will exceed the existing handling capacity within the next year, maintained Mohammed Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury, Shipping Secretary, speaking to the media, adding, “We have to increase the handling capacity by more four billion TEUs within 2033,” and went on to underline the main objective of the project was to enhance the cargo handling capacity of Bangladesh through constructing the Bay Terminal and to fulfil the demand of global trade alongside facilitating speedy port services with the neighbouring countries.
