Govt seeks private investment to expand Pangaon terminal

Amid increasing container flow at the Pangaon Inland Container Terminal (PICT) in Dhaka, the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has taken the initiative to expand facilities at the terminal, which has failed to attract exporters and importers for years.

Average monthly container handling at the terminal, which stood at 242 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2024 and 366 TEUs in 2025, rose to around 900 TEUs in the seven months to August this year after the government handed over the terminal to a foreign operator, Switzerland-based logistics firm Medlog.

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Against this backdrop, the CPA has invited private firms to develop and operate cargo and container handling facilities on 22 acres of land that remains vacant.

The port authority seeks private investment to manage, develop, supply, maintain and operate the facilities on the vacant land for 22 years, according to a tender published on September 22.

“We have taken the step for proper utilisation of the vacant land,” said CPA Secretary Syed Refayet Hamim.

The Pangaon ICT was built on the bank of the Buriganga River in Keraniganj in 2013 jointly by the CPA and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) at a cost of Tk 154 crore. It was intended to ease pressure on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway and railway corridors caused by cargo movement.

The CPA took a lease of 48.24 acres of land from the BIWTA to develop the terminal.

The current facility, under the management of Switzerland-based logistics firm Medlog SA, covers 26 acres. There are 22 acres of vacant land beyond the current facility, according to CPA Secretary Refayet.

The terminal had struggled to attract businesses transporting containerised cargo to and from Chattogram Port because of high inland water transport costs, lengthy customs clearance and other obstacles.

The situation has improved since Medlog Bangladesh Private Ltd, a concern of Medlog SA, started operating the terminal on January 17 this year.

As per the tender, interested firms, including their parent or holding companies, must have at least five years of experience in loading and discharging containers to or from vessels, according to the tender document.

They must also have experience in handling, storing and delivering containers and containerised cargo using their own equipment and manpower, with an annual handling capacity of at least 70,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) at any inland river terminal or river port at home or abroad.

ATM Anisul Millat, managing director of Medlog Bangladesh, said container transport through the terminal had already exceeded the total annual throughput of 4,400 TEUs by June this year. He said his firm was interested in participating in the bidding to manage and develop the 22 acres of vacant land at the terminal.