The development of Bangladesh’s only deep seaport in the Bay of Bengal began today as officials signed an agreement with two Japanese companies about the Matarbari Port, according to officials.
They added that under the state-run organization’s Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) program, the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) inked an agreement with two Japanese companies to construct the port using credits from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
At a ceremony in the capital, retired Brigadier General Dr. M Sakhawat Hussain, the adviser to the Shipping Ministry, joined CPA in signing the agreement with Japan’s Penta-Ocean Construction Co., Ltd. and TOA Corporation on the joint venture project.
“It is not just an infrastructure project, but a strategic investment for the future of Bangladesh,” Hossain told the signing ceremony at Le Meridien Hotel in city.
Navy chief Admiral M Nazmul Hassan, Shipping Ministry’s senior secretary Mohammed Yousuf, CPA Chairman Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman witnessed the signing on Bangladesh side while deputy chief of mission of Japanese embassy in Dhaka Naoki Takahashi and chief representative of JICA’s Bangladesh office Tomohide Ichiguchi were present.
“With signing of the deal, the construction phase of Bangladesh’s first-ever deep seaport has officially commenced under the Matarbari Port Development Project,” a JICA statement said.
According to the statement apart from the providing the loan JICA is also extending technical cooperation to build the port and its surrounding infrastructure “with global best practices in terms of design, environmental considerations, and operational efficiency”.
The site of the port is situated near Cox’s Bazar’s Maheshkhali Upazila.
The adviser said once the port was operational, it could handle large ships with a capacity of about 100,000 deadweight tons (DWT), a term that refers to the total weight a ship can carry, including cargo, fuel, water, and provisions.The proposed infrastructure is the core project under the Moheshkhali-Matarbari Integrated Infrastructure Development Initiative (MIDI), a comprehensive development vision jointly promoted by Bangladesh and Japan.
The initiative aimed to transform Moheshkhali-Matarbari region into a strategic economic corridor by integrating logistics, energy, and industrial development.
JICA said the operationalization of Matarbari port would catalyze the development of surrounding special economic zones, attract foreign direct investment, and generate local employment opportunities.
The state-run Japanese lending agency is also financing a 27-km access road linking Matarbari Port to national highway no. 1 or Dhaka-Chattogram Highway along with improvement of several bottlenecks along the existing highway from Chattogram to Chakaria of Cox’s Bazar.
JICA’s chief representative in Dhaka told the ceremony that the deal was not mere a contract signing, rather the beginning of a transformative journey.
“Matarbari Port will serve as a new maritime gateway for Bangladesh and a driver of economic growth in the long run. We are proud to support this visionary project, which symbolizes the strength and depth of the partnership between Japan and Bangladesh,”Ichiguchi said.
Large-scale container ships are anticipated to be able to dock at Matarbari Port, officials added, greatly lowering the region’s existing reliance on transshipment ports.
The construction of a Captic Jetty for the Matarbari Power Plant marked the beginning of the deep seaport’s development in the late 2010s. The Bangladeshi government then started a project to construct a fully functional commercial port.
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