The government is set to build Matarbari deep seaport, near Cox's Bazar, with funding from Japan, officials said.
The officials said the port will be set up to handle large ocean-going ships, cargoes and oil tankers as the Chittagong port is unable to accommodate those due to its lower draft.
The capacity of the proposed port will be two-three times higher than that of Bangladesh's largest seaport in Chittagong, they said.
The Chittagong Port Authority has taken up a Tk 185.80 billion project for constructing the multi-purpose port at Matarbari to be financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The JICA is also helping Bangladesh set up a 1,200-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant and a modern township at Matarbari.
The port authority has recently sought approval from the Planning Commission for the Matarbari project on the Maheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal.
Out of the total cost, the JICA has assured the government of providing Tk 132.53 billion (US$1.55 billion) in loans while the rest will come from Bangladesh's internal resources.
A ministry of shipping official told the FE that since the Chittagong port is not suitable for handling ocean-going vessels and its capacity will exhaust in near future, the government has decided to build the port at Matarbari.
The proposed seaport will have some 16-metres of draft, nearly double the Chittagong port's.
The Chittagong port cannot handle more than 2,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of container-carrying vessels as its draft is roughly 9.5 metres, he said.
But the Matarbari port will be able to handle ships with 8,000 TEUs, he added.
Since the Bangladesh government is setting up an energy hub on the Maheshkhali Island, and some special economic zones in Chittagong and Cox's Bazar areas, a deep seaport has become imperative, the shipping ministry official said.
The Colombo seaport in Sri Lanka, Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Navi Mumbai in India, Karachi Port in Pakistan, and Chennai Port in India can handle large vessels and are more efficient than the Chittagong port, he said.
According to the CPA project proposal, the proposed Matarbari deep seaport will be able to handle modern container-carrying, ocean-going vessels, open cargoes, and oil tankers, the shipping ministry official said.
The port authority will build a 300-metre multipurpose terminal and a 460-metre container terminal in the first phase of the project.
It will also procure cargo-handling and other necessary equipment, construct roads and bridges to connect with the seaport.
A port official said the authorities will start construction of the port as soon as it gets the Commission's approval.
The project is scheduled for completion by June 2026.
In the next phase, the authority has a plan to expand the port considering the growing demand of the country, he added.
Quoting a JICA study, he said that a deep seaport for Bangladesh is needed as the country's export and import are going up and the Chittagong port's capacity will exhaust within the next few years.
Chittagong port is the country's largest seaport, handling nearly 90 per cent of foreign trade.
