The World Bank has approved a loan of 650 million dollars or Tk. 65 crore to Bangladesh for the development of Chattogram Bay Terminal deep sea port.
On Friday (June 28), the Board of Executive Directors of the organization approved this, the World Bank said in a circular.
It is said that if the Bay Terminal is built, the global trade competitiveness of Bangladesh will increase significantly. Increased port efficiency will reduce import and export costs to a large extent.
The government plans to develop two container terminals, one multipurpose terminal and one oil and gas terminal under this project.
This marine infrastructure development project will construct a 6 km climate-resilient breakwater to protect the seaport from adverse currents and extreme weather conditions. It will also conduct dredging of port basins, entrances and access channels. The new state-of-the-art bay terminal is said to be operated by top international terminal operators.
It is also said that it will make it easier than ever to maneuver large ships like panamax ships. It will save approximately 1 million USD per day for Bangladesh. About 90 percent of Bangladesh's international trade goes through this port, but currently only small vessels can trade for a limited time.
Abdoulaye Sheik, Country Director of the World Bank for Bangladesh and Bhutan, said that Bangladesh's international trade is highly dependent on Chattogram port. But the port faces limitations at times. The Bay Terminal project will be a game changer for the port. It will improve Bangladesh's export competitiveness by increasing port capacity as well as reducing transport costs and time and open up new opportunities in global markets.
After the implementation of the development project, the port will also have road and rail connectivity facilities along with waterways. And more than 50 lakh containers will be handled here annually. At present Chattogram port is handling 30 to 32 lakh containers.