Published : 29 Aug 2026, 11:02 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:36 AM
Construction of the Laldia Container Terminal at Chittagong Port is set to begin with Danish support.
The formal construction launch will be held on Sunday at the project site in Patenga, with Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam likely to attend, the shipping ministry said on Saturday.
According to the ministry, Chittagong Port is one of the main drivers of Bangladesh’s economy, handling most of the country’s import-export trade.
It said expanding the port’s capacity, speeding up container handling and ensuring international-standard services are increasingly important as foreign trade grows.
Against this backdrop, the Laldia terminal is a major initiative to expand the port’s capacity.
The terminal is likely to bring modern infrastructure and technology-driven management to port operations, while improving efficiency and supporting the country’s international trade and logistics sectors.
Built with Danish support, the terminal will also boost the port’s infrastructure, container transport and handling capacity, while supporting the adoption of modern port management practices.
The government expects this to make the country’s import-export operations faster and more efficient.
The project is being implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The ministry describes it as one of the largest PPP investments in Bangladesh’s history, with total investment exceeding $550 million.
The project will include a container yard, jetty, gates, modern cargo-handling facilities and other infrastructure.
The proposed terminal will have an annual handling capacity of about 0.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and a jetty measuring about 615m.
It will also feature advanced cargo-handling systems, including modern shore-to-ship cranes.
During the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, moves began to hand over the operation of several ports, including Chittagong Port, and the construction of new infrastructure to foreign operators.
The moves drew criticism, with political parties joining protests and human chains. The government eventually decided to build the Laldia terminal with Danish support.
