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Published : 12 Nov 2025, 09:46 PM
Bangladesh is set to construct a container port on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, with Denmark-based APM Terminals selected to both build and operate the Laldia Port for 30 years under a public–private partnership.
The terminal, to be constructed near the Chattogram Port’s New Mooring Terminal but with double the handling capacity, will be managed by the Danish firm, a subsidiary of global shipping giant Maersk Group.
Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) Chief Executive Officer Ashik Chowdhury, who also chairs the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), announced the decision at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Wednesday.
He said the Economic Affairs Committee approved the 30-year agreement earlier in the day.
“We have been working on this project for several months. The proposal was presented and approved today. We will sign the agreement next week, begin construction in January, and expect operations to start by 2029,” Ashik said.
As a signing payment, APM Terminals will pay Tk 2.5 billion to the government upon finalisation of the deal, he added.
The new terminal will be built on Laldia Char, a 9km stretch from the New Mooring Terminal and 5km inland from the open sea. Described as Bangladesh’s first green and smart port, it will be equipped to handle vessels twice the size accommodated by Chattogram Port and operate round-the-clock with night navigation facilities.
The port’s handling capacity will reach 800,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) -- about 44 percent higher than existing capacity.
“Previously, containers bound for mother vessels at Sri Lankan or Singaporean ports had to be shipped via feeder vessels from Chattogram. Now, they can be directly uploaded here,” Ashik explained.
TERMS OF AGREEMENT
Outlining the investment plan, Ashik said APM Terminals would begin construction “from green grass” at the site, with a total investment of $550 million, or Tk 67 billion, over the next three years.
“The port’s ownership will remain with us. It will be handed back to Bangladesh after 30 years, though the tenure may be extended if the government wishes. Europe has never before made an investment of this scale in Bangladesh,” he said.
He added that under the revenue-sharing model, the government will earn $21 per TEU up to 800,000 containers handled annually. For volumes exceeding that threshold, the government will receive $23 per TEU, though the rate will drop slightly beyond 900,000 TEUs “to encourage higher handling”.
The PPPA said APM Terminals will design, finance, build, and operate the Laldia facility, but its ownership will remain with the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA).
According to the World Bank, APM Terminals currently operates more than 60 terminals in 33 countries and manages ports in 10 of the world’s top 20. The company has experience running terminals across Europe, China, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
During both the construction and operational phases, the project is expected to create 500–700 jobs. Ashik added that workers trained under the project would also have opportunities to work at APM Terminals’ other international ports.
