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The interim government has also progressed towards appointing the UAE-based DP World to run its largest terminal, the NCT, and preparing to sign agreements with PSA Singapore and DP World to build two terminals of the port’s Bay Terminal respectively.

The protesters criticised the government’s move to appoint foreign operators without competitive tenders, a practice often deployed by the ousted Awami League government.

At the beginning of this month, the Chattogram district unit of Sramik-Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP) observed a token hunger strike opposing the construction of the LCT.

The SKOP said the Laldia Char is close to the Karnaphuli estuary and the establishment of a terminal with jetties there would eventually render the existing port jetties ineffective.

APM Terminals, with its experience of operations in China, Singapore and Sri Lanka, will introduce operational excellence to Bangladesh, helping make the country’s logistics sector future-ready in the post-LDC era, said Ashik Chowdhury, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority and CEO of the PPP Authority.

“The newest green port will accommodate large container vessels, reduce per-unit freight cost and enable direct shipping connectivity worldwide,” he said at a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy announcing the plan to sign the deal.

The project will generate a stable foreign-currency income stream for Bangladesh while minimising public capital expenditure, said the Chief Adviser’s Office in a summary shared with the media after the briefing.

Additionally, for the first time in Bangladesh, round-the-clock port operations with night navigation capabilities for ships with permissible length and draught will be enabled, it added.

The LCT will be implemented on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis for a period of 48 years comprising an initial 33-year concession with a possible 15-year extension, according to CCEA meeting.

It will take approximately three years to complete the construction and commissioning of the terminal, which is expected to begin operations by the end of 2029.

APM Terminals is expected to bring in foreign investments of about $550 million or Tk 6,700 crore-- the single largest European equity investment in Bangladesh to date, Chowdhury said.

Upon the finalisation of the agreement, APM Terminals has also committed to paying a signing bonus of Tk 250 crore to Bangladesh.

Located about five kilometres closer to the Bay of Bengal compared to the NCT, the LCT will be capable of handling ships nearly twice the size of those currently accommodated at the NCT, decreasing dependence on transshipment ports like Colombo and Singapore, said the CA office.

The terminal’s initial annual handling capacity will be 800,000 TEUs, scalable to 1 million TEUs through efficiency gains and technology upgrades.

Officials estimate this will increase the country’s total container handling capacity by more than 40 percent, according to the CA Office.

This will help relieve the current level of congestion at Chattogram’s existing container terminals and provide headroom for Bangladesh’s fast-growing trade volumes, it added.

“This terminal has the potential to dramatically reduce the ‘factory-to-store’ time for Bangladeshi products,” said CPA Chairman SM Moniruzzaman.

Under the revenue-sharing arrangement, APM Terminals will pay the CPA $21 per TEU for the first 800,000 containers handled annually, according to Ashik.

The LCT is expected to create 500 to 700 direct jobs, with additional employment across the logistics and related sectors.