The Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT), a Saudi company, has been confirmed as the operator of Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) for 22 years.
The RSGT is expected to begin operation in September, according to the Public Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) sources.
For the first time, Bangladesh has appointed foreign operator for the terminals of Chattogram Port, prime sea port of the country.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) was appointed by the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) as the transaction adviser in August of last year to appoint a foreign operator for PCT. The agency was given the responsibility for preparing the investment proposal for Red Sea Gateway.
CPA sources said, the construction works of Patenga Container Terminal have already been completed and the authorities hope vessels can anchor here by September. The terminal is expected to handle four lakh of containers and oil tankers.
The Ministry of Shipping and Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) signed a framework of mutual cooperation for Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) on the sidelines of the Bangladesh Business Summit on March 11.
In July 2022, RSGT, operator of the largest and busiest terminal facility in Saudi Arabia, was selected by the Ministry of Shipping as the preferred operator for the new $240 million, 445,000 TEU capacity PCT facility at Chattogram.
To cater the demand of the increasing trend of containerisation, the CPA had started the construction works of Patenga Container Terminal with the assistance of Bangladesh Army. The PCT is situated over 32 acres of land with three berths of total 600 meters length and three vessels with 11 metre draft vessels will be able to take berth at a time in the terminal.
With the completion of the project, the vessel may take berth in the PCT within the shortest possible time because of terminal being very near to estuary of Karnaphuli River. The cost of project is estimated at Taka 1,532 crore within the target. The PCT had been constructed with the total handling capacity of 4.45 lakh TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) of containers.
The CPA is going to operate a newly built container terminal after a long 16 years. Chattogram Port is the busiest container port on the Bay of Bengal, with a 2021 container throughput of 3.2 million TEU. PCT will enhance Chattogram’s operational efficiency with the ability to handle three vessels simultaneously.
