PM opens 3rd seaport, Payra

The Payra seaport will initially offer limited services. Hasina also inaugurated four other development projects, including the Bangladesh's first eight-lane highway, through a video conference at her official residence Gono Bhaban on Saturday. Payra's inauguration began with the unloading of goods from a commercial ship at Ramnabad channel. The first ship has already reached the outer anchorage from China with 53,000 tonnes of stones for building the Padma Bridge. Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan and the acting head of Payra seaport, Captain Md Saidur Rahman, were present at the port in Kalapara of Patuakhali. The seaport will provide limited services until 2018 when it is expected to become fully functional. Till then, port services will be limited to unloading cargo at the outer anchorage through lighterage vessels. Hasina laid the foundation stone of Payra on November 19, 2013. “The southern part of the country will see rapid economic growth once the port becomes fully operational in 2018,” Hasina said at the inauguration. The port, which is being developed on nearly 6000 acres, will also help establish new industries and generate employment, particularly in export processing and shipbuilding.