Bangladesh will lay the foundation stone for APM Terminals’ $550m Laldia Container Terminal at Chattogram Port on 30 August, according to Bangladesh’s Press Information Department.
The project will add more than 800,000 TEU of annual container-handling capacity at the country’s main maritime gateway and is intended to ease pressure on existing facilities, improve vessel turnaround and allow Chattogram to handle larger containerships.
Shipping, Road Transport and Bridges and Railways Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam announced the date after meeting an APM Terminals delegation.
The terminal is being developed under a public-private partnership with the Chittagong Port Authority through an expected investment of about $550m and a 30-year operating concession, with any extension linked to performance indicators.
APM Terminals and local equity partner QNS Container Services Ltd will develop and operate the facility, while ownership of the port infrastructure will remain with the Chittagong Port Authority.
The additional capacity represents an increase of about 44% against the benchmark used when the concession was agreed. The terminal is expected to be commissioned by 2030.
The project is planned as a green facility using advanced cargo-handling technology, including cranes operated remotely from offices.
Alam said it would also seek to increase women’s participation in the port sector. Laldia is expected to create 500 to 700 direct jobs and several thousand indirect positions in construction, trucking, warehousing, freight forwarding and related businesses.
APM Terminals BV is wholly owned by Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S and operates a network of more than 60 terminals in 33 countries.
QNS Container Services Ltd is the Bangladeshi local equity partner in the Laldia project.