The Matarbari Deep Sea Port Project entered its main construction phase from Thursday through dredging activities in the coastal area of Matarbari under Maheshkhali upazila of Cox’s Bazar, marking a major step toward building the country’s first deep-sea port.
Officials concerned said the start of the project’s core activities is expected to open a new chapter in Bangladesh’s maritime trade and shipping sector.
Although dredging operations were initially scheduled to begin on May 3, the work was delayed due to preparatory activities, including the installation of dredgers and pipeline systems.
Chattogram Port Authority Secretary and spokesperson Syed Refayet Hamim told TIMES that the main construction work of the Matarbari Deep Sea Port Project formally commenced through dredging operations from May 7.
He said the contractor had already completed preliminary works, including embankment construction, land filling and project area demarcation.
According to Chattogram Port Authority, dredging work has started using the large-scale specialised dredger Suez 03, brought from Japan.
More than 250 million cubic feet of sand and soil will be extracted from the channel. The dredged materials will be used for land development within the project area, while a portion will be preserved for future use.
The project is being financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, while Japanese firms Penta-Ocean Construction and Towa Corporation are jointly overseeing the construction work.
Initially, around 70 acres of land will be dredged to a depth of 18 metres to form part of the port channel. Officials said the phase is expected to take five to six months.
Construction of jetties, container yards and other infrastructure will then proceed in phases.
Under the project, a terminal comprising two jetties will be constructed at an estimated cost of Tk6,200 crore. The facilities will include a 300-metre multipurpose jetty and a 460-metre container jetty.
Modern infrastructure, including terminal buildings, container yards, sea walls, retaining walls, dredging facilities and solar power systems, will also be developed.
Once completed, the port will be capable of handling vessels with a capacity of up to 8,000 TEUs, significantly larger than the approximately 2,500-TEU ships currently operating at Chattogram Port.
The overall cost of the Matarbari Deep Sea Port Project is estimated at around Tk24,300 crore.
The first phase is targeted for completion by 2029, while commercial operations are expected to begin in 2030.
In 2024, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council revised the project cost upward from Tk17,777 crore to Tk24,381 crore.
The Japanese side will finance the infrastructure construction under “Package-1” of the port project.
Besides the two jetties, ancillary facilities including terminal buildings, pavements, sea walls, retaining walls, land development works, dredging operations and solar power systems will also be built.
Officials said the implementation of the 1,200MW Matarbari Ultra Super Critical Coal-Fired Power Project has already played a major role in developing the infrastructure needed for the deep-sea port.
A 14.3-kilometre navigational channel built earlier for transporting coal and equipment to the power plant is now being reused for port operations.
So far, 197 ships carrying machinery and equipment for the power project have berthed at the Matarbari power plant jetty, transporting a total of 5.56 million metric tonnes of cargo.
