Beginning of partial operation of Patenga Container Terminal to face delay 

The beginning of partial operation of the newly built Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) is going to face delay as some required procedures, including the import of equipment and securing of legal clearances, are yet to be completed.

Sources say Saudi port operator Red Sea Gateway Terminal International (RSGTI) has sought two more months to begin the partial operation of the terminal.

Constructed in July 2021, the PCT was formally inaugurated in November last year. 

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) signed a concession agreement with RSGTI on December 6 to equip and operate the terminal for 22 years under a public-private partnership (PPP) model through a government-to-government arrangement.

As per the deal, the firm was supposed to start the partial operation by April after installing small container handling equipment like mobile cranes, forklifts and reach stackers.
As per the agreement, it will need two years to install major handling equipment like quayside gantry cranes (QGCs) to start the full operation.

In the first two to two and a half years before the installation of QGCs, only geared vessels – ships with cranes – will be accommodated at the terminal, while containers will be lifted with cranes available on ships.

According to sources, more than 20 containers full of equipment, including forklifts, reach stackers and others imported by the Saudi firm, have already arrived at the port.

CPA Secretary Md Omar Faruk told The Daily Star yesterday that the firm had brought some equipment while more equipment is in the process of import.

The firm has sought an extension of the time until the first week of June to start the partial operation as it will need time to bring the rest of the equipment and secure legal clearances from various authorities, he said.

The firm, being a foreign operator, needs to obtain a set of clearances according to the PPP terms. They include a bonded warehouse licence and the 10-year tax exemption from the National Board of Revenue, said a senior CPA official, who is working on the project.  

At first, the PCT and its backup yard need to be declared as a warehouse or bonded warehouse facility by the NBR to qualify for the bonded warehouse licence, he said. 

On April 17, the NBR declared the PCT and the yard as the bonded warehouse facility. RSGTI has already applied for the bonded licence, he said.