Payra port, the third seaport in Bangladesh, expects to see the arrival of larger ships from the first week of April, according to a statement from the shipping ministry issued yesterday.

The vessels will initially berth at a jetty of the Payra Thermal Power Plant, which is situated next to the port. Here, users will be able to load or unload cargo for transport all over the country.

But from May, ships will be able to berth at the port itself after the construction of its first terminal is complete, the shipping ministry said after a meeting regarding the project's implementation progress under the Annual Development Programme for fiscal 2022-23.

The meeting was chaired by Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, the state minister for shipping.

Md Mustafa Kamal, secretary of the shipping ministry, and Rear Admiral Mohammad Sohail, chairman of the Payra Port Authority (PPA), along with the heads of different organisations were present.

Contacted, Azizur Rahman, deputy director (traffic) of the PPA, said the largest vessel to dock at Chattogram port so far had a draft of 9.50 metres.

But from next month, vessels with a draft of 10.5 metres and 225 metres in length will be able to arrive at Payra port, he added.

Rahman went on to say that seven ships are expected to arrive at the port in the first week of April.

Besides, works on building the first terminal at Charipara of the Ravanabad channel is ongoing. Once constructed, it will have the capacity to accommodate three mother vessels of up to 200 metres in length at the same time.

In addition, two more terminals are under construction at the port, he said.

Port officials say capital dredging of the channel of Payra port will be complete on March 26 while 1,000 acres of land has been filled with the collected sand.

Marking buoy lamps are also being installed at the inner and outer bars. Some 15 ships can be accommodated at the inner bar, where loading and unloading activities will be conducted.

They also said work on a 6.35 kilometre six-lane road to the terminal for transporting goods is also ongoing. Apart from this, the construction of a 1.12 kilometre four-lane bridge over Andharmanik river has started.

The total cost of this project, including construction of the first terminal, six-lane road and four-lane bridge has been estimated at Tk 4,516 crore.

Captain SM Sarifur Rahman, harbour master of the PPA, said mainly ships carrying coal and stone are coming from Indonesia and the UAE.

Officials say about 1,400 domestic and foreign ships have been unloaded (ship-to-ship) at Payra port since it started operations in August 2016.

Of these, 296 foreign cargo ships were unloaded at the outer anchorage, generating about Tk 800 crore in revenue for the government.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of Payra port on November 19, 2013.