CHATTOGRAM, Nov 14: The Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) is going to sign an agreement with the AP Moller-Maersk, a Danish shipping and logistics company, for construction of Laldiar char container terminal under Public Private Partnership system.
The AP Moller-Maersk, is interested to invest $800 million in constructing the Laldia container terminal at Chattogram Port.
The representatives of CPA and the AP Moller-Maersk will sign the agreement on Monday, Muhammad Omar Faruk, Secretary of CPA told the Daily Observer.
The chairman of APM Terminals' global headquarters and a minister from Denmark will come to celebrate the signing ceremony.
APM Terminals, a subsidiary of AP Moller-Maersk, will develop the first BOT (build-operate-transfer) port project in Bangladesh under a public-private partnership (PPP) and on a government-to-government basis.
The terminal will be built over 32 acres of land.
The main objective of it is to enhance the container handling capacity of the Port. The project will also strengthen the port logistics capacity of Bangladesh.
The project will create numerous jobs during construction and operations. It will also boost economic growth, streamline supply chains and will attract foreign investment and enhance logistical capacity.
The proposed Laldia Container Terminal, with a quay length of 450 meters, a berth depth of 10.5 meters, and a vessel draft of 9.5 metres, is set to address the increasing demand for efficient and sustainable container handling services.
At the initial stage, the CPA had decided to build a bulk cargo terminal at Laldiar Char. However, later the government decided that a multipurpose terminal would be built there to handle both container and bulk cargoes.
The project involves the construction of bulk cargo and container handling terminal including the construction of berths, storage facilities, loading and unloading facilities, an administrative space and the installation of equipment with safety and security systems. The new Laldia Multi-purpose Terminal will be equipped with two berths for the handling of containers from geared ships as well as two berths for the handling of dry bulk and break bulk general cargo. The project will be implemented within 36 months.
The terminal will have the handling capacity of 3 lakh Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit or TEUs of container per year.
Meanwhile, the Public Private Partnership authority (PPPA) has already started their works for construction of the terminal. In this connection, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Authority, signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for providing Transaction Advisory 10 June last year.
In an agreement signed recently, the CPA partnered with the Bangladesh Navy to construct a 240-metre-long heavy-lift cargo jetty with backup facilities at the Laldia-2 area of Chattogram Port. Designed to support a load capacity of five tonnes per square metre, this will be the country's first dedicated facility for handling heavy cargo.
CPA sources said, the ownership of the port will continue with CPA, while APM Terminals and a local joint venture partner will only be responsible for construction, operations, and management. This will reduce the capital expenditure burden for the government.
Under the concession agreement, APM Terminals BV is expected to bring in an expected amount of about $550 million in FDI via the Ladia terminal's construction-making it the single largest European equity investment in Bangladesh to date.
The terminal expected to be commissioned in 2030 is likely to add over 800,000 TEUs per year and ease Chattagram port;s congestion.
