Source: Financial Express
According to sources, the Chattogram district administration is allocating 500.71 acres of government land to the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) for the project at a cost of Tk 30 million.
The Ministry of Land has recently communicated this decision to the CPA, and the nominal land price is expected to save the CPA approximately Tk 12.38 billion.
Initially, in January 2022, the Chattogram district administration had fixed the price of land at Tk 36 billion.
However, after the CPA appealed to the Ministry of Land for a token price, the district administration re-evaluated the land’s value at Tk 12.41 billion in 2023.
Eventually, the token price was fixed at Tk 30 million, resolving the dispute that had been causing delays in the terminal’s construction.
Omar Faruk, Secretary of the CPA, stated, “The construction of Bay Terminal may commence later this year after completion of all processes. The issues related to the land acquisition process have been resolved, and the land acquisition process is almost at the last stage.”
Rear Admiral Mohammad Sohail, Chairman of the CPA, added, “The related work on the Bay Terminal of the Chittagong seaport is progressing in full swing now. After finalising the master plan, the groundbreaking work for the terminal is expected to commence in October this year.”
Sources said the CPA came up with the plan around a decade ago. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the construction in 2018.
Spanning 900 acres along the Patenga coastline, the terminal is aimed to enhance port activities and reduce transportation costs by accommodating large ships that cannot currently berth at the port jetties.
It is projected to increase the port’s container handling capacity to 5.0 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) annually, up from the existing 3.1 million TEUs.
Additionally, the Bay Terminal is anticipated to contribute 2-3 per cent to the growth of the national economy.
Finally, the dispute over the handing over of 500 acres of Khas land to Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) by Chattogram district administration for construction of Bay Terminal has been removed recently.
As a result, there is no bar for construction of the terminal, a long-awaited project of the CPA now.
It is likely to begin in the current year.
Sources said, Chattogram district administration is giving 500.71 acres of government land to the CPA at the cost of only 30 million for the project.
The Ministry of Land has sent a letter to CPA in this regard recently.
By getting this land at a nominal price, the CPA is saving about Tk 12.38 billion.
Earlier Chattogram district administration fixed the prices of 500 acres of the land at Tk 12.41 billion in 2023.
The CPA, however, appealed to the Ministry of Land to hand over the land at token price again. At first in January 2022, Chattogram district administration had demanded Tk 36 billion for the land.
A high level meeting held at Shipping Ministry chaired by ministry Secretary Muhammad Mustafa Kamal on December 27 in 2022 last, directed Chattogram district administration to hand over the land to the Ministry of land within one month at token price.
The dispute over land price was causing the delay in construction of the terminal.
CPA Secretary Omar Faruk said, “the construction of Bay Terminal may begin around in the current year after completing all process. There were few issues over the land acquisition process which have already been solved now and the land acquisition process is almost at the last stage.”
Chairman of CPA Rear Admiral Mohammad Sohail said, “the related works for Bay Terminal of Chittagong seaport is going on full swing now. After completing the final master plan, ground breaking work for the terminal is likely to be started in October in the current year.”
Sources said, CPA came up with the plan around a decade ago.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the construction in 2018.
CPA has decided to set up a new terminal named “Bay Terminal” on Patenga coastline with all modern port facilities to mobilise port activities and reduce transportation costs.
The terminal to be built on an area of 900 acres would allow big ships, which now cannot berth at the jetties of Chittagong Port to for carrying out shipment activities.
It is expected to increase the container handling capacity of the port by up to 5.0 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) yearly from the existing 3.1 million TEUs. The Bay Terminal is also expected to contribute 2 to 3 per cent to the growth of the national economy.
