Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam on Wednesday told Parliament that the Payra Port is expected to be fully operational by early 2027 following completion of the unfinished works.

“Once these works are completed that means the port is expected to be fully operational at the beginning of next year,” he said while replying to a scripted question from treasury bench member ABM Mosharrof Hossain (Patuakhali-4).

The minister said as the first seaport in post-independence Bangladesh in 2015, a Techno-Economic Feasibility Study for the construction of Payra Port was completed by UK-based consultancy HR Wallingford.

CCGP rejects Payra Port connecting road variation proposal

He said two long-term projects were undertaken in 2016 to acquire land and rehabilitate the affected people in 2019 and to construct the first terminal of Payra Port including connecting roads and bridges. “The two projects will be completed in July and December this year respectively,” he said.

Rabiul said the construction of 1180-m four-lane bridge over the Andharmanik River and 6.35-km six-lane terminal connection road to connect the port's jetty to the Dhaka-Kuakata Road is almost at its final stage and will be completed by December 2026.

He, however, said the channel called 'Rabnabad Channel' for entering the port is currently not deep enough for commercial ships to enter.

He further said dredging will have to be done to open the port and since the area is prone to silting, dredging will have to be continued uninterruptedly throughout the year.

Currently, the government is considering a project proposal for dredging the Rabnabad Channel for two years and purchasing two Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHD) during this period, he added.

The shipping minister said some 96% of the country's total sea trade is handled through Chittagong Port.

The need for a new port is undeniable to meet the pressure of the country's growing foreign trade, he said.