SIMIC

JEDDAH's Red Sea Gateway Terminal International (RSGTI) and the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) have signed a 22-year concession to operate of the Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) on an EquipOperate-Transfer basis, reports London's Port Technology.

CPA chairman Mohammed Sohail and RSGTI CEO Jens O Floe signed the concession agreement in the presence of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih in Dhaka.



The Patenga terminal is Bangladesh's latest and most modern facility with 500,000 TEU capacity, and it is the first to be operated by an international operator in the Port of Chittagong on the Bay of Bengal.



Constructed by the Bangladeshi Government, the PCT has 580 metres of quay, an area of over 200,000 square-metres in conjunction with the South Container Yard, and a 9.5-metre draft offering a shorter sailing distance and guaranteed windows, a first for the Port of Chittagong.



RSGTI plans to invest US$170 million in equipment technology, including four advanced ship-to-shore (STS) cranes.



PCT, with the ability to handle three vessels simultaneously, shall, at first, handle geared vessels with an initial annual capacity of 250,000 TEU, doubling its capacity with the delivery of major equipment, including STS Cranes and rubber-tyred gantry cranes.



The equipment will reportedly have the capability to handle the largest gearless and geared vessels calling Chittagong Port.



Said Mr Floe: "We eagerly anticipate leveraging our operational excellence to enhance the performance of Bangladesh's primary gateway port.



Chittagong is Bangladesh's primary port, through which over 90 per cent of Bangladeshi trade passes, and it is the busiest container port on the Bay of Bengal. With a population of 167 million and an average GDP growth rate of over six per cent over the last decade, Bangladesh is one of the world's fastest-growing economies.