A tiny island developed on the Bay of Bengal is believed to be a blessing for the country as construction of a container terminal on it would facilitate arrival of mother vessels in the Chittagong port. Currently, no mother vessel enters into the Chittagong port mainly due to low draught ranging 8.0-9.0 metres in the Karnaphuli channel. As a result, mother vessels which usually carry around 10,000 containers release those meant for Bangladesh in Singapore, Port Klang of Malaysia and sometimes in Colombo of Sri Lanka. CPA mulls building container terminal in Bay island And the bulk carriers discharge cargoes at the Kutubdia point with around 14 metres draught. Later small-sized vessels bring the cargoes to the Chittagong port. Once the terminal is constructed, the cost of doing business, especially external trade, is expected to fall as direct cargo handling from mother or big vessels would save time and money. However, after development of siltation, a primary investigation was made by the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA). The probe found that it has around 14 metres draught which is enough for big vessels, usually called mother vessels, to anchor. The draught is almost equivalent to the much-talked-about the deep seaport at Paira in Patuakhali and Moheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar. The island is located a bit outside the main port channel. It is just visible from the Patenga sea beach and is at the western part of the country’s first export processing zone. It is also near Anandabazar, an old area on the south part of Halishahar of the port city. “It is just 6.15 kilometres away from Anandabazar channel area,” an official at the port’s estate department told the FE. The small island has more than 1,200 acres of lands. The port’s investigation argued that a terminal with a few berthing facilities might be constructed by using its 950 acres of land. Upon findings of bright prospects, the CPA has already planned to construct a terminal named Bay Terminal. The CPA officials said they have invited tenders for conducting feasibility study of the project. Some 13 firms from home and abroad submitted quotations for the feasibility study. The CPA selected five firms namely Ecorem of Belgium, Ramboll of Denmark A/S, DOHWA Engineering Co Ltd of Korea, HR Walling Ford Ltd of UK and Sellhorn Ingenieurgesell Schaft MSH of Germany to carry out the survey. If everything goes on as planned, it will have deep seaport facilities, said a senior official at the planning unit of the CPA. He said the difference is that a deep seaport is usually equipped with large area and multiple berths. “But this will have two berths as the length of the mother vessels is usually large.” But everything will depend on the studies. On the other hand, a section of port experts argued that the small island might disappear in a natural process. Officials said the project will be solely dependent on the feasibility study although it is highly important for the port. Member (admin and planning) of the CPA Md Zafar Alam said the port authority is likely to go ahead with the construction of the Bay Terminal considering the prime port’s ever-increasing cargo handling growth, export and import volume, transit and transshipment. The CPA will finance, control and supervise the Bay Terminal. However, the Ministry of Shipping has already approved a proposal relating to acquisition of the island form the Chittagong district administration. CPA Chairman Rear Admiral Nizam Uddin earlier this year said that the country’s prime maritime port’s cargo handling performance sees an annual growth of 12 per cent which reflects the country’s rapid advancement towards economic development. According to sources, the port handles over 1.7 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers besides handling 15 million tonnes of cement clinker and a large quantity of coal and open cargoes annually.
