Ctg port to appoint int’l operator for PCT

Chittagong port is set to decide on the appointment of a foreign operator, who will also invest millions of dollars to buy equipment to operate Patenga Container Terminal (PCT).

The under-construction terminal has three berthing jetties and is capable of handling 4.5 lakh Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) containers annually.

Chittagong Port Authority has recently modified the project proposal of the PCT project as the revised project allowed the purchase of equipment by the operator. According to the revised proposal, the operator itself will be able to purchase the necessary equipment for handling the PCT.

The PCT is in the process of appointing a consultant to fix the contract terms with an international standard operator.

So far, DP World of the UAE, Red Sea Gateway Terminal, RSGT of Saudi Arabia, PSA Singapore and Adani Port and Special Economic Zone Authority of India have formally expressed interest to become operator of PCT, a medium rang berthing facilities of Chittagong port.

According to port sources, the international service providers are also lobbying hard to get the job for handling the PCT, which may increase the container handling capacity of Chittagong port by 12-15 per cent. The port now handles three million TEUs annually.

CPA Chairman Rear Admiral M Shahjahan said, “There are proposals from four foreign companies in PCT, which are now being verified by the Public-Private Partnership Cell at the Prime Minister’s Office.”

PCT is being constructed with Chittagong port’s own funds at a cost of Tk 2,075 crore while the revised cost is around Tk 1,400 crore and it has made 75 per cent progress so far.

The 600-metre-long container terminal, which will be able to handle about 4.50 lakh TEUs of containers annually, is being constructed with the berthing facilities of three ships on 26 acres of land located in Patenga between Chattogram Dry Dock and the Boat Club.

To appoint an international standard operator as per the government’s wish, the port authority has dropped the option of buying equipment by itself from its project proposal, said port sources.

Under the new plan, once appointed, the operator will be able to bring or buy the required equipment for the operation of the terminal.

“This excludes around Tk 600 crore just for equipment purchase from the total project expenditures worth Tk 2000 crore,’’ said project director Mizanur Rahman Sarkar told The Business Post.

Chittagong port, which is now dealing with 92 per cent of overseas trade of the country, has an annual growth of around 10 per cent, but the service is not up to the mark yet.

Meanwhile, Chittagong Port Master Plan has projected the container traffic to 4.4 million, 5.1 million and 5.4 million TEUs in the year 2025, 2030 and 2040 respectively.

As the standard of current port operation is not up to the mark, port users are seriously looking forward to seeing an internationally reputed operator to be appointed, said Sayed Mohammad Arif, president of Bangladesh Shipping Agent Association.

After berthing in a jetty, it is now necessary for a ship to spend at least two to three days for loading and unloading. But, if the port operation is fine, it is possible to finish in just a day, he added.

“The appointment of foreign operators in PTC will open up new doors of Chittagong port for the first time for foreign investors as well.”

“The proposal from the world recognised port service providers’ for handing PCT indicates their interest to develop the country’s port facilities as well as its infrastructures.”