FROM PAGE B1

$26 million in 14 rubber-tyred gantry cranes and around $3 million in a container scanner, which enabled the terminal to begin handling import containers earlier this year.

The terminal’s expansion carries wider significance. Chattogram port handles more than 90 percent of Bangladesh’s seaborne trade and processed approximately 3.41 million TEUs last year, making it the busiest container port on the Bay of Bengal.

Industry insiders expect that improved performance at Patenga will ease pressure on other existing facilities as cargo volumes grow.

The region is also set to generate rising trade demand from a cluster of major industrial and infrastructure projects — the Mirsarai Economic Zone, the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone, a proposed free trade zone in Anwara, and the Matarbari deep-sea port.

Mohammed Amirul Haque, president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the RSGT investment should be seen in that broader context. “The investment made by RSGT should be viewed in the context of the wider economic transformation taking place in the Chattogram region,” he said.

On the other major projects, the CCI president commented, “Once these investments reach full production, cargo movement through Chattogram port will increase significantly.”

However, he added that even with the Bay Terminal, Patenga Container Terminal and Matarbari deep-sea port in operation, there will be a need for further capacity expansion and efficiency improvements.

He said all existing jetties and terminals at Chattogram port would need to be utilised more efficiently through modern equipment, automation and improved operational management to handle future trade volumes.