PM opens country's 3rd seaport

Payra, the country's third seaport, began its journey yesterday on a limited scale with the authority saying it will take at least seven years and an estimated investment of $16 billion to make the port fully operational.

"This [port] will open a new horizon of development,” said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina while inaugurating the much-talked-about port.

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The port will not only help the people in the southern region. Bangladesh as a whole and other South Asian nations will also benefit from it, Hasina said.

Around the port, according to government plans, will be exclusive economic zone, power plants, Liquified Natural Gas terminal, eco-tourism and an airport, which is expected to bring a new lease of life to the economically lagging south.

The port will bring about revolutionary changes to the lives of people who had to fight with nature to survive and ensure livelihoods, the PM said, adding that Payra would create an environment conducive to many activities. 

Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, lawmakers of local constituencies and senior government officials were present at the port under construction at Itbaria of Kalapara in Patuakhali, 319 kilomtres south of Dhaka.

Some lighter vessels were anchored close to the port in the Andharmanik river.  One vessel was moored near the pontoon to mark the beginning of the port activities.

Two cranes, a site for construction of a warehouse and another for construction of a five-storey administrative building were seen.

A two-storey building and some office rooms have been built since the laying of the foundation stone in 2013 for administrative work.

The main port where loading and unloading activities will take place is yet to be set up, locals and officials said. 

Until now 16 acres of land have been acquired. The authority is still in the process of acquiring the remaining of the 6,000 acres designated for the port.

The port's operation began as a vessel from China -- MV Fortune Bird -- arrived here on July 29 with 53,000 tonnes of crushed black stones to be used in the Padma bridge project.

The vessel has been waiting at the outer anchorage since its arrival as it could not unload the goods due to unfavourable weather, said SK Mahfuz Hamid, managing director of Gulf Orient Seaways Ltd, the shipping agent.

The ship will start unloading the consignment today with the help of 12 lighter vessels, he said, adding that Asia Pacific Geraldton Ltd, exporter of the stones, would export one million tonnes of stones in total for the Padma project.

Businesses will benefit much from the Payra port as the cost of transporting goods through waterways is lower than using Chittagong port, he said.

Two ships from Malaysia and India are also expected to arrive at the Payra port soon, according to port's authority.

The authority says it wants to develop the port in three phases and make it fully operational by 2023.

By the end of this year, it aims to facilitate berthing of ships carrying clinker, fertiliser and other bulk commodities at outer anchorage and transportation of cargos by lighter vessels to the rest of the country.

By 2018, the authority plans to ensure 10-metre depth of the channel through dredging and build a multipurpose terminal and a bulk terminal to handle higher volumes of shipments.

The Payra seaport began operation three years after the government's announcement of facilitating entry of bigger ships that cannot anchor at Chittagong and Mongla ports.

The main port to be built on the west bank of Rabnabad channel will allow up to 250-metre vessels to come through once dredging of 35-kilomtres of the channel is done.

A preliminary deal has been signed with a Belgian firm, Jan De Nul, for dredging and maintenance, said Md Saidur Rahman, aciting chairman of the Payra port.

The authority is expected to acquire the entire designated land for the port by this year, he added. 

Chittagong seaport that now handles more than 90 percent of the export-import trade of Bangladesh can facilitate berthing of 186-metre vessels, according to officials of the Payra port.

Saidur said a proposal to invest $16 billion had been sent to the Planning Commission to fully develop the port.

But the state may not have to contribute much since a large portion of the investment is likely to be ensured through government to government contract and foreign funds, he said.

Already, some countries including China, India and France have shown interest in participating in the development of the Payra port, Saidur said.