The Payra Port Authority (PPA) is set to begin the much-hyped capital dredging project in Rabnabad channel at a cost of Tk 4,950 crore to facilitate entry of large ships.
To be implemented by the Belgian dredging company Jan De Nul, the PPA under the shipping ministry will build a channel 75 kilometres long, 100-125 metres wide and 10.5 metres deep between the port and the sea, said a press release from the shipping ministry.
The channel will bring a capacity to carry 40,000 tonnes of cargo or 3,000 container ships to the port, it said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will virtually inaugurate the project on Thursday from her official residence in Gono Bhaban.
At the same event, the premier will inaugurate eight ships and lay the foundation stone of a six-lane connecting road with the port, first terminal and a bridge there.
This information was announced at a preparatory meeting chaired by State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury at the conference centre of the port yesterday on the occasion of the inauguration of the development works.
The development works of the port may help it function at full capacity and enhance the country’s foreign trade, the benefits of which will be enjoyed by the country for ages, the press release said.
Of the eight ships, two are pilot vessels, two are heavy duty speedboats, one is a buoy laying vessel, one is a survey boat and two are tugboats.
Through the dredging project, Payra port will be able to facilitate the arrival and exit of domestic and foreign commercial ships, and the preservation of the channel properly.
The construction of the first terminal of the port will cost Tk 4,516.75 crore. The operational work will begin after completing the construction work by December 2023. The 6.35 kilometer long six-lane connecting roads, being implemented by the Roads and Highway Division for Tk 655.5 crore, is scheduled to be complete by 2023.
A 1,180-metre-long bridge, worth Tk 740 crore will be built over the Andarmanik River to transport the Payra Port Authority’s cargo.
Once the construction of the first terminal, 6-lane connecting road and bridge of Payra port is completed, three foreign containers or bulk cargo ships will be able to arrive together in the three jetties of the terminal.
A total of 236 sea-going ships have arrived at the port so far, earning the government Tk 548 crore as revenue, the press release said. “We are seeing a booming economy in the southern region around Payra port,” said Mahmud.
Among others, Muhibur Rahman Muhib, member of parliament (Patuakhali-4), and Rear Admiral Mohammad Sohail, chairman of the Payra Port Authority, were present at the event.
The premier inaugurated Payra port on November 19 in 2013.
Trade activities at Payra port, the country’s third seaport, are increasing gradually riding on coal imports for the nearby Payra 1,320-MW Thermal Power Plant.
Coal handling by the port rose from 1.46 lakh tonnes in 2019 to 17.05 lakh tonnes in 2021, port data showed.
