State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury has said the under-construction Bay Terminal is the pride of Bangladesh like Padma Bridge. He said the operation of Bay Terminal will start in 2024.
He said the Prime Minister is keen to complete construction work of Bay Terminal within the scheduled time in 2024.
"Fund constraints won't hold up construction of Bay Terminal. If there is a fund crisis, the government will provide funds to complete construction of Bay Terminal of the Chittagong Port," Mahmud added.
He made the remarks while visiting Chattogram to see for himself the progress of the construction work of Bay Terminal on Thursday morning.
Secretary of Shipping Ministry Mohammed Mejbah Uddin Chowdhury, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PPP Sultana Afroj, Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Chairman Rear Admiral M Shahjahan, CPA Member Md Jafar Alam and Secretary Mohammed Omar Faruk were present during his visit.
"Our Prime Minister is very serious about the quick construction of the Bay Terminal. The government has already fixed time to complete the total construction work of Bay Terminal within 2024," the state minister said.
The CPA said land acquisition for the Bay Terminal project has already been completed. However, sources said the construction work became slow recently due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. But the pace of work will accelerate very soon, they added.
Khalid Mahmud informed that many foreign investors were interested to invest in the Bay Terminal project.
"We need some more time to make a decision in this regard. We will consider all as per philosophy and vision of Bangabandhu that friendship with everybody," he said.
The government had allocated money to complete construction of Payra Port earlier. Now, the government has allocated funds to acquire land for Bay Terminal. We are offering three-fold than the original price of land to complete construction of the Bay Terminal," he mentioned.
PPP CEO Sultana Afroj said they visited the construction site of Bay Terminal along with the state minister at 10am today.
"We are eager to complete the work as soon as possible. Investors from many countries including Singapore, China, Denmark and some other foreign nations have shown interest to invest in Bay Terminal. We held a series of zoom meetings with the interested investors. We are coordinating the matter now. Deadline to complete the Bay Terminal has already been fixed. Now, we can move the file quickly as we have witnessed the progress of the work today," she said.
She added that the Bay Terminal will be one of the most important key installations in the country after its completion.
CPA Chairman Rear Admiral Shahjahan said, "We are working hard as per directives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to complete the Bay Terminal within schedule. We have appointed a new consultant to give updates regularly.
Later, we will call e-tender in this regard. We want to start at least one or two terminals of the Bay Terminal project within 2024. Everything will depend on coordination and decision of the authority concerned. But, we have to work hard with sincerity in this regard."
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of construction work of Bay Terminal on Patenga coastline on November 01, 2018.
The construction work of Bay Terminal with all modern port facilities will bring dynamism in the port activities and reduce transportation cost is now progressing in full swing as the project is in the top priority list of the Prime Minister, a CPA official told the FE.
Earlier, Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) had given NOC (No Objection Certificate) to the CPA in this regard. The Central Land Allocation Committee (CLAC) also approved 803.1710 acres of land for the project.
Once completed, larger ships with more draft and length, which now cannot take berth at the jetties of Chattogram Port, will be able to take berths at the jetties of the Bay Terminal for smooth handling of cargoes at the country's prime sea port.
