Land acquisition was a major obstacle in the construction of the Bay-terminal at Chittagong Port. About 3.5 years ago, 68 acres of land was purchased with the port's own funds. 2.5 years ago, the Central Land Allocation Committee approved the acquisition of 803 acres of Khas land proposed for the Bay-terminal.
A letter from the land ministry to the Chittagong deputy commissioner has mentioned the transfer of land to the port. The port authorities said that the work of the project will be speeded up this time as the land worth thousands of crores has been allotted for free. However, port users have expressed frustration over the lack of progress in the long-running project.
The Bay-terminal is being built along the vast land and sea coast of Patenga and Halishahar. One of the major mega projects of the government has undergone major changes this year. This project was to be implemented through Public Private Partnership (PPP). But seven countries with Singapore, United Arab Emirates, South Korea and Saudi Arabia have shown interest in investing thousands of crores taka to make the Bay-terminal an international standard port. So new plans have been made to maintain good relations with everyone and keep control of the port in their own hands.
According to the plan, 1 of the 3 terminals will be built by Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) on an individual basis and the other two on Build-Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. The Bay-terminal with a budget of around Tk 25,000 crore will be launched by 2016. If implemented, more than 50 lakh containers can be kept.
Port authorities say that port authorities took the initiative to settle the land. But there are many reasons for stumbling with lawsuits and bureaucratic complications. However, the land issue is now being resolved. Construction of the yard and terminal for the truck and covered van is currently underway. With the construction of Bay-terminal, the capacity of Chittagong Port will increase several times more. The terminal will be able to handle the pressure of import-export trade. It has created a lot of interest among the port users and the international community. The Bay-terminal will be able to load large ships, turn ships, load and unload cargo, and anchor more ships. But for a long time there were complications related to land acquisition surrounding the project and now on the way to solve this problem. Therefore, the port is also looking at the possibility of increasing the speed of work.
Port users say that Chittagong port handles an average of 3 million containers a year but this number is increasing. There are many complications. In this situation, the port users do not see any other option except Bay-terminal in future. They are also expressing frustration at the slow pace of work at the Bay-terminal.
According to the port authorities, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Bay-terminal construction project on November 1, 2018. The construction site of the terminal has been selected on the sea coast of Patenga Halishahar area, 6 km away from Chittagong port. In the proposal of the project, connection facility of rail, road, sea and airport has been kept. Ships with a draft capacity of about 12 meters and a length of 285 meters with a capacity of 5,000 TEUs (equivalent units at a length of 20 feet) can be crowded. In addition, in case of ship berthing, the ship will be able to operate 24 hours a day including night navigation. If the terminal is operational, the congestion of Chittagong port will be reduced to a great extent, which will save time and reduce business costs.
MahbubulAlam, President of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), said, "Country's economy is growing cannot be handled by the Chittagong port alone." As a result, there is no alternative to the Bay-terminal project to cope with the increasing pressure of import and export of goods. For a long time there were complications with the allocation of land in this project. Now this problem is also on the way to be solved. Hopefully, the pace of work on the project will increase further. When this project is implemented, it will be a milestone for the economy or business of Chittagong and Bangladesh. '
Chittagong Port Authority Secretary Mohammad Umar Faruq said, ‘There has been a complication regarding land allocation since the project started. Now he is on the way to solve the problem. Hopefully, this time the work of the project will get more speed. The yard and the terminal for the truck and covered van are currently under construction.
“If the Bay-terminal project is implemented, the three large ships will be able to dock together,” he said. No need to wait for the tide. Ships can enter the terminal from the south side of the Bay-terminal and exit through the North Channel or use both routes. Moreover, through this projectrent of container will come down to 1 thousand US dollars per unit. As a result, the ship fare will be reduced. Reducing import costs will save a huge amount of foreign exchange. Ship congestion at the port will be reduced. Overall, the national income will also increase.
