Bay Terminal, a mega container project of Chattogram Port

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Sarwaruddin, Chattogram Bureau :
 Chattogram Port Authority has started process of purchasing govt lands through acquistions instead of leasing aimed at starting the construction works of the proposed country famous Bay Terminal avoiding procastination in leasing the govt lands. In the meantime, 68 acres of private owned land was acquisioned and the price money of these private lands amounting more than Tk.400 crores will be deposited to Deputy commissioner office redently to distribute among the land owners as compensation.
The remaining lands of the Bay Terminal about 840 acres of govt owned lands will be purchased by this process of acquisition which will be completed very shortly. s. Port sources said it will require Tk.1500 cr to purchse these 840 acres of land from govt . Reliable sources said the constructions of terminal yard will begin very shortly. After completion of yard constructions, a number of port activities will be transferred Bay Terminal gradually as decided by the authority. Constructions of truck terminal also started simultaneoulsy with yard terminal. The average increase of container handling of the CPA is more than 16% . CPA handles 28 lakh 8 thousand 554 TEUs container in last fiscal superceding targets of shipping experts and consultants expectations .If this trend of handling continues, the port will be able to handle 35 lakh TEUs containers by 2022 .In different survey over container handlings of CP , this port will have to handle more 10 lakh 50 thousand TEUs of container than the target of 35 lakh in 2022. If the alternative arrangement is not built up by 2023 to handle the additional containers , the total import and exports of the country will suffer at large. In this context of next 100 years of imports and export trades, CPA has taken this mega Bay Terminal project over 908 acres of land at Halishahar coast in Chattogram which is free from any tide and ebb tide in question of navigability for berthing.Chattogram Development Authority prepared architectural plan and design of the terminal, sources said. Port sources said the length and breadth of the terminal is about 7 kilomers and 600 meters respectively. The infrastructures of terminal will be built in four silted lands of the Halishahar coast which sighted after devasting cyclone and tidal surge of 1990 . Another silted land sighted 800 meters off of the old 4 chars where a channel is created naturally and the depth in the channel varies from 7 to 10 meters. But the navigability on west side of this char in bay is about 13 to 15 meters.
 Port sources said. The main terminal will be located in the silted land (char) beside the channel and the breadth of the channel may be expanded including navigability where mother vessel can easily takes berth , a survey report of German Consultancy Firm Shell Horn HPC said. This foreign consultancy firm is working for Bay Terminal . As per consultant report, primarily this terminal will be built over 908 acres of land . Port Chairman Commodore Zulfikar Aziz told that ” we have waited for long behind the land procurement and we have no enough time to wait further. And hence we have decided to purchase the govt land instead of lease to start the construction works very shortly.
Port chairman further said the acquisition of 68 acres of private owned land already completed by the District administration and the compensation money also desposited to District treasury recently. He also said the existing truck terminal of the port will be shifted to Bay terminal site .Director(Planning) of CPA Zafar Alam told that BT will be built over 3 times more lands than the existing CP which may gradually be turned in six times more land by encroaching lands from sea bed . He said the operational areas CP is about 330 acres of l and whereas the BT will primarily launch operational activities over 908 acres of land and have scope to expand its areas in 2500 acres of land. After completion of BT, vessels carrying 5000 TEUs container can easily be berth in terminal whereas the vessels with 2000 TEUs container can take berth in the existing CP.
Present CP has some restrictions over berthing of vessels in night time and during the time of ebb tide because of river channel but the BT will be freed from such limitations of berthing . port sources said CP can give berthing schedule of 20 vessels on average a day but BT will have capacity of 35 vessels for berthing schedule a day. After completion of Bay Terminal , the purpose of the deep sea port will he fuflilled parftially for the time being pending construction of deep sea port at Moheskhali.
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