Nurul Amin

Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) and Chittagong district administration have taken a decision to acquire 68 acres of private land for construction of Bay Terminal. Accordingly, the district administration is going to aquire the land very soon. After acquisition of the private land, the management will go for implementation of the gigantic project, according to CPA sources.

The proposed port terminal to be built on 907 acres of land will allow big ships to berth at Chittagong Port. Meanwhile, the CPA has invited Expression of Interest (EOI) from international consulting firms. The last date for submission of EOI is July 4. The consultancy firm will prepare financial models for directing loan for construction of Bay Terminal and breakwater and reimbursement of the  same. Sources said India has agreed to provide US$600 million for the project.

Besides, China has also wished to provide credit for the project.The CPA signed an agreement with Hamburg Port Consulting of Germany as a consultant for conducting a feasibility study for construction of Bay terminal in Chittagong on August 17 in 2016. The organisation conducted the feasibility study at a cost of Tk 80 million. The consulting firm completed the study in nine  months.

The Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) handed over the NOC to the CPA official on December in 2015. CPA will finance, control and supervise the Bay Terminal to be built on the coastline behind the Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ). According to the port sources, the country's premier sea port, CPA, handles over 26 lakhs TEUs (Twenty Equivalent Units) of containers side by side with handling 1.5 crores of cement clinkers and huge quantity of coal and open cargoes annually.

But big vessels carrying different kinds of cargoes including the cement clinkers, coals and food grains cannot berth at the port jetties as CPA allows ships with 190 metres length and 9.5 metres draft to berth at the jetties for unloading their cargoes. Under such a condition, ships with more length and draft have to anchor at the outer anchorage of the port to unload their goods through lighter vessels which results in a high transportation cost.

Keeping this in view, the CPA is going to set up the 'Bay Terminal' to allow bigger ships to directly berth adjacent to estuary of the port. CPA sources said, the bigger ships with more length and draft to 12 metres will be able to berth at the jetties of the terminal for handling goods.