The government has primarily picked PSA Singapore from five global port giants to build and operate Bay Container Terminal in Chattogram, officials have said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently approved a proposal, forwarded by shipping ministry, to this end.
The ministry has engaged the Public Private Partnership Authority to complete technical, financial and legal negotiations with the Singaporean firm to start work.
According to officials, the terminal will be built under the government-to-government (G2G) partnership between Bangladesh and Singapore.
The firm, if finally selected, will follow the design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) model.
It will operate the terminal through sharing revenue with the government for a certain period.
PSA Singapore, according to officials, will carry out capital dredging and build breakwater in the bay, and construct two container terminals and other components.
However, it would not be invited to build a multipurpose terminal component of the facility.
DP World UAE, Korean International Port Development Cooperation Program, China Merchants Port Holdings Company Ltd and APM Terminal India also expressed interest to get the job.
According to ministry officials, the government found PSA Singapore's proposal suitable considering its expertise in port construction and operations globally.
Shipping secretary Abdus Samad said the terminal will be built in 12 to 13 metres water depth inside the bay.
"The main feature of the terminal is it is much inside the bay, thus will be able to accommodate large vessels," he told the FE.
Mr Samad said as the terminal will be built outside Chattogram city area, the cargo vehicles to and from the terminal will not face congestion.
He expected that the terminal will start handling cargoes by 2022, thus raising Chattogram port's capacity significantly.
Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) chairman Zulfiqur Aziz told the FE earlier that the terminal will be able to accommodate 280 metres long and 5,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) vessels.
The cost of building the terminal has been estimated at $2.5 billion, he mentioned.
CPA secretary Omar Faruk said on Thursday the construction of Bay Terminal is included in the port's master plan to deal with increased volume of cargoes.
The port's annual growth now stands at 14 per cent, he told the FE. "We need to raise capacity to handle cargo growth."
Mr Faruk said the port's handling capacity will increase significantly once the Bay Terminal and other planned terminals and jetties are constructed. The country's prime seaport has the built-in capacity of handling 1.7 million TEUs of containers annually.
However, the port now handles nearly 3.0 million TEUs of containers every year.
