With the goal of turning Bangladesh into a significant international export hub, DP World and AP Moller-Maersk have expressed a strong interest in investing heavily in the country’s maritime industry in order to build additional ports along the Bay of Bengal. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, and Robert Maersk Uggla, Chair of AP Moller-Maersk, presented their investment recommendations to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus during the World Economic Forum’s annual conference in Davos.
The suggestions were well received by Dr. Yunus, who invited both businesses to come to Dhaka with comprehensive investment plans. In order to maximize Bangladesh’s potential as a regional business hub, he underlined the necessity of building a number of ports around the Bay of Bengal. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, CEO of DP World, indicated interest in funding the New Mooring Container Terminal in order to improve efficiency, lower emissions, and ease traffic at Chattogram Port. Sulayem expressed optimism in reproducing the success of DP World’s investments in Bangladesh, pointing out that these projects in other nations had continuously drawn substantial FDI and decreased pollution.
Additionally, he suggested that Chattogram Port implement a digitized online customs process, which he claimed could greatly lower corruption. Sulayem also shown interest in creating inland container depots to enhance Bangladeshi logistics even more. According to Sulayem, the previous administration rejected DP World’s 2022 investment request in Bangladesh.
Robert Maersk Uggla, chair of AP Moller-Maersk, suggested investing in the Laldia Container Terminal, which is close to Chattogram Port, with the goal of converting it into a green, sustainable port with cutting-edge technical assistance. Uggla mentioned Salalah Port in Oman as an excellent illustration of how Maersk’s investments have raised port infrastructure to world-class levels, drawing on previous successes in Morocco and Oman.
Dr. Yunus emphasized that in order for Bangladesh to establish itself as a regional export hub that handles cargo for neighboring nations like India, Nepal, and Bhutan, port facilities must be improved. With the potential to improve Bangladesh’s regional and international trade capacities, the suggestions from DP World and Maersk suggest a possible transformation of the country’s maritime and commerce infrastructure.
