- The port authority will start running the Patenga Container Terminal if no foreign operator is hired by July 2022.
- Traders say crisis of equipment at the port will intensify if equipment from other terminals is brought there
- Only the jetty facility of the terminal will be available for use in the initial stage.
- The port authority will not provide any key gantry crane, so only ships with cranes will be docked there initially.
The Chattogram Port Authority wants to open the Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) in July of this year, but the Ministry of Shipping has failed to name a terminal operator, causing traders to be concerned. After multiple extensions of the project’s implementation duration, it has now reached its conclusion. If equipment is not allocated and operators are not hired promptly, it will take another year and a half to two years to reap the benefits of the new terminal, according to the dealers.
Mahbubul Alam, president of the Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the New Mooring Container Terminal lay idle for several years due to a lack of equipment even after its construction was completed.
“This should not happen again at PCT and the authorities should make arrangements so that it comes into use quickly. There is no alternative to starting operations at this terminal on time to handle the growing import-export trade,” he added. Previously, work on the construction of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) was completed in 2007, but high-quality equipment, including gantry cranes, was added to this terminal in 2018.
