Payra Port to complete upgrade by July 2026
The Payra sea port is being developed under a master plan, and one of the new features is scheduled to be operational by July 2026, said the Payra Port Authority (PPA) today.
The port will enable transshipment for up to 15 commercial vessels simultaneously, said PPA Member (Engineering & Development) Commodore Mohammad Abdul Kader while describing the development plans.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. It will contain a 650-metre (m) jetty for berthing 3,000-3,500 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) container vessels and navigational channels for Panamax vessels (up to 225m long and 32m wide), he said.
It will also have a 3.25 lakh square metre backup yard and a 10,000 square metre container freight station, he said.
Additional features include uninterrupted river connectivity with Dhaka and other regions, cost-effective anchorage and parking facilities, and tariff rates 20 percent to 30 percent lower than those in other ports, said Kader.
He was addressing a seminar at a Kuakata hotel organised by a joint team of Dutch company Royal Haskoning DHV and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).
The team presented a detailed master plan for the overall development of the third-largest sea port in Bangladesh, situated some 270 kilometres south of the capital Dhaka.
The plan came about under a tripartite agreement signed among the team, PPA, and the Ministry of Shipping in February 2019.
A total of 24 studies and development project reports, including the master plan, were scheduled to be delivered within 18 months at a cost of around Tk 125 crore.
However, it was delayed due to the pandemic and political uncertainties, according to the signatories.
The Payra sea port is being developed as a profitable and environmentally friendly trade infrastructure, said Shipping, Labour and Employment Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, while speaking to journalists after the seminar.
"Unlike our other ports, we want Payra to be internationally connected and sustainable. The port will avoid coal-based electricity and instead rely on renewable energy sources," he said.
With the development plan now available, Adviser Hossain urged investors to consider setting up small-scale industries around the port to accelerate its utility.
"No port becomes profitable overnight. If we proceed as planned and establish strong road, rail, and waterway connectivity, this port can undoubtedly become a profitable hub," he added.
Hossain noted that around 93 percent of Bangladesh's foreign trade currently depends on the Chattogram port.
However, with increasing industrialisation and the adoption of export-oriented projects, the volume of foreign trade is expected to double by 2050, requiring enhancement of the port's capacity, he said.
The seminar was chaired by PPA Chairman Rear Admiral Masud Iqbal.
Menno Muijs, who led the Royal Haskoning DHV experts, presented the master plan, and Prof Dr Ishtiaque Ahmed, who led the Buet specialists, delivered the keynote speech.
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