State Minister: First phase of Matarbari deep sea port by 2026

State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) under the Ministry of Shipping is working to complete the first phase of construction of the Matarbari Port Development Project by 2026.

Khalid made the statement during a meeting with Yuho Hayakawa, chief representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) Bangladesh in his office at the Secretariat on Thursday afternoon.

The meeting between the duo comes a day after a phone conversation between Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.

“Work on Matarbari port development project is in progress under the government’s first track project. Already 116.54 hectares of land acquisition have been completed by the CPA. Acquisition of 205 hectares of land required for the Roads and Highway Department is underway.

“The project director (PD) of the Roads division has been appointed and the interim PD of the CPA has been appointed. Furthermore, a letter has been sent to the Ministry of Public Administration for appointment of project coordinator and PD of CPA,” told the state minister for shipping. 

Khalid also informed that the Matarbari Port Development Project was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on March 10 this year. The approved estimated cost of the project is at Tk17,777.16 crore. Of this, Jica loan (project assistance) is Tk12,892.76 crore and government fund is Tk2671.15 crore and own funds is Tk2,213.25 crore. 

“The implementation period of the project is from January 2020 to December 2026. The approved project has two components,” said Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury.

The state minister also informed that the Multipurpose Terminal, Container Terminal, and other activities will be implemented by CPA and 26.1km (four lane) main road connecting South and Southeast Asia roads with the port, 1.6km dam-cum-road, and construction of 17 bridges will be implemented by the Department of Roads and Highways (RHD).

Additional Secretary (Development) of Shipping Ministry Bhola Nath Dey, Joint Secretary (Development) Rafiqul Islam Khan, and Jica representative Wataru Osawa were present in the meeting.