APM Terminals to develop Bangladesh's Laldia Container Terminal

The announcement followed approval of the PPP model by the country’s cabinet committee on economic affairs.

A concession agreement allows a private company to build, operate and maintain public infrastructure, while transferring it back to the government after a defined term.

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.

There has been opposition from different quarters to the government's move to lease out different terminals of the Chattogram Port to foreign companies without tenders.

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, said Ashik Chowdhury, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority and CEO chief executive officer 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 was quoted as saying by domestic media reports.

The project will generate a stable foreign-currency income stream for Bangladesh while minimising public capital expenditure, said the Chief Adviser's Office.

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

The LCT will be capable of handling ships nearly twice the size of those currently accommodated at the New Mooring container terminal (NCT), decreasing dependence on trans-shipment ports like Colombo and Singapore, it added.

The LCT will be implemented on a ‘design, build, finance, operate and transfer’ basis for 48 years, comprising an initial 33-year concession with a possible 15-year extension.

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 invest about $550 million—the single largest European equity investment in Bangladesh to date, Chowdhury noted.

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 raise the country's total container handling capacity by more than 40 per cent.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)