Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) has been selected by the Bangladeshi Ministry of Shipping as the preferred operator of the New Patenga Container Terminal at the Port of Chittagong.
RSGT, operator of the largest terminal facility in Saudi Arabia, at Jeddah Islamic Port, has been nominated over several competing proposals by Bangladesh’s Ministry of Shipping to respond to an upcoming Request for Proposal (RFP) to operate the new US$240 million Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) currently nearing completion at Chittagong, Bangladesh’s primary port.
Bangladesh’s Shipping Secretary, Mostafa Kamal said RSGT has not been awarded the task. The International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group has been selected as transaction adviser to negotiate with the RSGT.
Once the negotiation is successful then a deal will be signed between the RSGT and the Chittagong Port for the operation of the terminal.
“We have just started negotiation with the RSGT,” said Mostafa Kamal.
The Port of Chittagong (recently renamed as Chattogram), handled a record 3.2 million TEU in FY 2021, and is the busiest port in the Bay of Bengal, serving as the gateway for 90% of Bangladesh’s import and export ocean cargo.
The 500,000 TEU annual throughput capacity Patenga Container Terminal will feature 600 meters quay and will be able to handle three vessels simultaneously.
“We are extremely pleased to have been selected for this opportunity. The rapid growth of Chittagong Port’s cargo volumes necessitates further investment in modern equipment, advanced technology and building new human capacity. This project fits well with Red Sea Gateway Terminal’s competencies and its expansion strategy for emerging markets. We are very confident that, through this investment, we will be able to contribute significantly to Bangladesh’s fast-growing trade and economy,” commented RSGT’s director of global investments, Gagan Seksaria.
