Maersk is building a 210,000 square feet warehouse in Chattogram to expand its capacity, the Danish logistics giant said.

The warehouse has been tailor-made to suit the needs of the exporters of retail and lifestyle commodities and should be available by April 2024, according to a press release issued today.

In recent times, Bangladesh has seen a slight slowdown in exports owing to the ongoing geopolitical situation that has led to reduced demand for retail and lifestyle goods in the Western markets, said Maersk.

However, the trend is expected to turn around as inventory restocking begins, giving a boost to exports out of the country, it said.

With the demand picking up again and limited warehousing capacity in the market, Maersk aims to close the gap between higher demand and shortage of supply through this facility at Chattogram, the shipping company said.

Vikash Agarwal, managing director of the Maersk South Asia, said "We continue to invest and strengthen our commitment to Bangladesh with the expansion of our footprint in the country."

"We strongly believe in the potential of this country and its exporters, and we are fully committed to participating and playing a role in their respective growth stories," he said.

Maersk and Ispahani Summit Alliance Terminal Limited (ISATL) had first collaborated and entered into an agreement towards the end of 2021 and within a period of 14 months, ISATL provided 200,000 square feet of export custom bonded warehouse to Maersk, according to the press release.

Maersk also offers another 100,000 square feet of warehousing space in partnership with Vertex Depot, which was inaugurated earlier in February this year.

With the latest expansion, Maersk has on offer over half a million sq. ft. of dedicated export warehouse in Chattogram to its customers, it said.

Maersk also offers another 300,000 sq. ft. of flexible warehousing capacity through local partnerships to customers in case of short-term requirements, it added.