Matarbari port tested as first mother vessel docks
Another mother vessel will arrive from Indonesia on 5 January
As part of a sea trial, mother vessel Venus Triumph carrying coal-fired power plant equipment anchored at Matarbari channel jetty in Moheshkhali of Cox's Bazar as the first ship on Tuesday morning.
Panama-flagged Venus Triumph was brought to the jetty at 10:30am. The vessel carrying 736 tonnes of power plant equipment left Indonesia on 22 December and reached the outer anchorage early in the morning. Two pilots then used a tugboat to bring it to the jetty.
Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) Assistant Harbour Master Captain Mohammad Ataul H Siddique said the ship was scheduled to leave Matarbari on 4 January after unloading the equipment.
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He also said another mother vessel carrying power plant equipment from Indonesia would arrive in Matarbari the following day.
The CPA described the successful anchoring of the vessel at the jetty – built for handling power station project equipment – before constructing the main port as a milestone.
CPA Chairman Rear Admiral SM Abul Kalam Azad told The Business Standard, "We are moving towards the successful realisation of our dream to develop the region as an economic hub centring the Matarbari port."
"We have achieved great success in the development of the Matarbari deep sea port as the mother vessel has anchored at the jetty. From now on, ships carrying power plant equipment will be anchored here."
He said 92% of the country's total trade is done through Chattogram port, and it had reached the last stage of its capacity in the light of business growth.
That is why the government took the initiative to build the Matarbari port in 2014, said Azad.
"After the deal was inked with the consulting firm on 23 September of that year, development work of the project officially began on 16 November. Now work on the main port is going on.
"The consulting firm is working as per the plan. Once the port opens, the economic belt being developed from Dhaka to Cox's Bazar will gather pace," he added.
Before the Matarbari port's construction, a channel measuring 250 metres in width, 18 metres in depth and 14 kilometres in length had been built. Through this channel, ships from the Bay of Bengal will arrive and anchor at the jetty. Six buoys have been set up to guide ships from the deep sea to the jetty through the channel.
Abul Kalam Azad, executive director of the Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited, said the jetty's construction began in August 2015 at a cost of around Tk2,000 crore.
"Now that a mother vessel has anchored, the project has become successful. Later, the width of the channel will be increased by 100 metres to build the deep sea port. After the increase, the width will be 350 metres."
Due to its shallowness, large container ships cannot dock at the Chattogram port. That is why goods in containers are transported to different ports of the world through 82 feeder vessels.
These vessels first transport the goods from the Chattogram port to the specified destinations via Singapore, Malaysia's Port Klang, China and Colombo. Similarly, imported goods are also brought from those ports to the Chattogram port.
Once the Matarbari port is opened, large container vessels will be able to dock there directly.
Ahsanul Huq Chowdhury, president of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents' Association, told The Business Standard the opening of the Matarbari port would enable direct transportations of containers.
"At present, freight charge has to be paid twice to transport goods using feeder vessels. On the other hand, in case of transportations of export goods, there is often the possibility of missing the schedule of mother vessels. Matarbari port will save time and money required to transport goods."
As ships with a depth of more than 8.5 metres cannot dock at the Chattogram port jetty, 1,878 containers are transported via each ship on average.
Matarbari port will be able to accommodate ships carrying 8,000-10,000 containers, which is about five times the number of ships anchored at the Chattogram port at present.
Zafar Alam, a member of the CPA (planning and admin), said this would reduce the costs of transporting goods and traders would get more benefits.
"Initially, it is being designed to handle eight lakh containers. If the jetty is expanded later, the capacity will increase. The time ships need to come from China and unload goods at the Chattogram port will be reduced by three days once the Matarbari port is completed.
"We hope that the port will be completed six months ahead of the schedule in 2025," he added.
The depth of the Matarbari channel is currently 16 metres. It will be increased to 18.5 metres.
Matarbari port will benefit India's seven sister states, including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, Nepal and Bhutan as they will be able to transport goods through it. It will be possible to use feeder vessels to transport goods from Kolkata and Haldia in India.
Ahsanul said not only containers from India, Nepal and Bhutan would come under transit and transhipment arrangements, but feeder services would also be launched from Matarbari to nearby ports, including Kolkata and Haldia.
He said Bangladesh would be able to earn a lot of foreign currency.
Zafar said there could be many terminal ports under a port, and Matarbari port would be managed by the CPA.
"During this difficult period of the Covid-19 pandemic, consultants of other development projects left without finishing their work. But Matarbari project consultants are working despite the risk."
Once the port's construction is completed in mid-2025 at a cost of Tk17,777 crore, ships with a depth of 18.5 metres will be able to dock at the terminal.
According to Chattogram port sources, the first phase of Matarbari project will involve design and civil engineering work while handling equipment will be collected in the second step. The project will use the latest Japanese technology keeping in mind the possibility of earthquakes.
Consulting firm Nippon Koei Bangladesh Ltd will administer the design cost of the project, prepare tender documents, and monitor the construction of infrastructure. Later, it will coordinate equipment collection and the launching of the port.
Up to one year after the opening of the port, the consulting firm will provide all the necessary support. For that, it will be paid Tk234 crore.
Oriental Consultants Global Company will advise on the activities of the Roads and Highways Department in the project's port link road section, and it will be paid Tk466 crore for that.
Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mahbubul Alam said the opening of Matarbari port would revolutionise trade and commerce in the region.
"There is no alternative but to construct a new port considering the expansion of industries in the country. Moreover, as it is a deep sea port, traders will benefit both in terms of costs and time needed for transportations of goods," he said.
"Our expectation is that the port authorities will be able to complete the project according to the schedule," he added.
