Anticipation is high in Bangladesh and Chattogram that the new terminal will finally usher in some sort of relief for users of the congested South Asian port.

The construction of PCT was completed in June 2022, but operation could not be started till an operator was appointed. In November 2023 the Prime Minister of Bangladesh inaugurated the terminal and subsequently on 6 December 2023 a deal was signed with Jeddah-based Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) to operate the facility for a period of 22 years.

RSGT will formally begin handling of ships in the terminal with loading boxes in the Maersk Davao, which is sailing from Port Klang carrying 1,700 TEU import containers. “We will start operations at the terminal on Monday,” Munir Uddin Hassan, Senior Manager, RSGT Bangladesh said.

Hassan said initially ships cranes will be used to load and unload containers, but he expects gantry cranes will arrive by 2025 to allow the terminal to handle gearless vessels.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) built PCT at a cost of US$240m. The terminal has an area of 32 acres, a 600m long berth and the capacity to handle nearly 500,000 TEU annually. With a draft of over 10m the terminal will be able to accommodate ships up to 200m long carrying up to 4,500 TEU.

PCT is located within 6 nautical miles from the outer anchorage of Chittagong port, closer to the open sea than the existing terminals at Chittagong.

Rafayet Ullah, a senior official at a garment factory said opening of the new terminal will to some extent help lessen the suffering exporters and importers have endured for years from the lack of port capacity. “We expect world class services with competitive price from the RSGT,” he said.

Mr Ullah noted that PCT is opening 17 years after the last new facility at the port, NCT, came into operation. “The port should have built more terminals much before to handle growing cargo loads,” he added.

Omar Faruk, a spokesperson for Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), said gradually the port authority will adopt full-fledged “landlord model” by handing over the responsibility of port operations to foreign operators. Foreign companies are queuing up to get a foot in the door, and they want responsibility for both construction and operation of new facilities, he added. Other terminals in the pipeline include the Bay Terminal, Laldia Terminal, and a new deep-sea port in the Matarbari area being built with Japanese funding.

Anticipation is high in Bangladesh and Chattogram that the new terminal will finally usher in some sort of relief for users of the congested South Asian port.

The construction of PCT was completed in June 2022, but operation could not be started till an operator was appointed. In November 2023 the Prime Minister of Bangladesh inaugurated the terminal and subsequently on 6 December 2023 a deal was signed with Jeddah-based Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) to operate the facility for a period of 22 years.

RSGT will formally begin handling of ships in the terminal with loading boxes in the Maersk Davao, which is sailing from Port Klang carrying 1,700 TEU import containers. “We will start operations at the terminal on Monday,” Munir Uddin Hassan, Senior Manager, RSGT Bangladesh said.

Hassan said initially ships cranes will be used to load and unload containers, but he expects gantry cranes will arrive by 2025 to allow the terminal to handle gearless vessels.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) built PCT at a cost of US$240m. The terminal has an area of 32 acres, a 600m long berth and the capacity to handle nearly 500,000 TEU annually. With a draft of over 10m the terminal will be able to accommodate ships up to 200m long carrying up to 4,500 TEU.

PCT is located within 6 nautical miles from the outer anchorage of Chittagong port, closer to the open sea than the existing terminals at Chittagong.

Rafayet Ullah, a senior official at a garment factory said opening of the new terminal will to some extent help lessen the suffering exporters and importers have endured for years from the lack of port capacity. “We expect world class services with competitive price from the RSGT,” he said.

Mr Ullah noted that PCT is opening 17 years after the last new facility at the port, NCT, came into operation. “The port should have built more terminals much before to handle growing cargo loads,” he added.

Omar Faruk, a spokesperson for Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), said gradually the port authority will adopt full-fledged “landlord model” by handing over the responsibility of port operations to foreign operators. Foreign companies are queuing up to get a foot in the door, and they want responsibility for both construction and operation of new facilities, he added. Other terminals in the pipeline include the Bay Terminal, Laldia Terminal, and a new deep-sea port in the Matarbari area being built with Japanese funding.