LCT: Country’s first FDI port project takes off tomorrow

Construction of the much-awaited Laldia Container Terminal (LCT), the country’s first greenfield port project to be implemented with foreign direct investment (FDI), is set to begin tomorrow, nearly five years after the initiative was launched.

The terminal, being developed by APM Terminals, a subsidiary of Danish shipping giant Maersk Group, will involve an investment of more than $550 million under the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) model. Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the project, titled “Establishment and Operation of Laldia Container Terminal at Chittagong Port through PPP Model,” at the project site in Patenga.

The terminal is expected to boost Chattogram port’s container-handling capacity and strengthen Bangladesh’s position as a regional trade and logistics hub linking India and Southeast Asia. Located close to major industrial areas and with direct access to the Karnaphuli channel, the terminal is also expected to improve supply-chain efficiency and support commercial activities.

Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Secretary Syed Refayet Hamim said the terminal’s access to the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, Karnaphuli Tunnel and Outer Ring Road would ensure faster connectivity with major industrial and commercial centres. It would also help meet the growing demand for container handling at Chattogram Port and increase its capacity to handle larger vessels, including ships with a capacity of up to 6,000 TEUs, he said.

The concession agreement between the CPA and APMT BV was signed and the Letter of Award (LoA) issued on November 17, 2025, with effect from March 16 this year. The terminal will have an annual handling capacity of 800,000 TEUs and a 616-metre jetty, capable of handling vessels with a draft of up to 10 metres, and will have seven ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and 32 electric rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes. Of the 49.15 acres allocated for the project, 32 acres in Block-C will accommodate the main terminal, while around 7.15 acres in Block-B will be used as a container yard and about 10 acres in Block-A will be used for truck parking and pre-gate facilities.

The 33-year concession agreement provides three years for construction and 30 years for operation, with the concession period extendable by another 15 years subject to fulfilment of conditions stipulated in the agreement, sources said. The CPA officially handed over the project site to APM Terminals on April 22 after fulfilling the conditions precedent stipulated in the concession agreement, with preparatory work now under way and operations expected to begin by 2030.

The project comes as Chattogram port, the country’s premier seaport handling about 92% of Bangladesh’s export-import trade, continues to face rising demand. The port recorded its highest-ever container, cargo and vessel handling in the 2025-26 fiscal year, with container handling rising 7.13%, cargo handling 5.62% and vessel handling 6.35% from the previous year. According to CPA data, the port handled 3,531,118 TEUs of containers, 138,072,826 tonnes of cargo and 4,336 vessels in FY26, surpassing the previous records of 3,296,067 TEUs, 130,724,783 tonnes of cargo and 4,077 vessels in FY25.

Container loading and unloading operations are currently carried out at the General Cargo Berths (GCB), Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT), New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and Patenga Container Terminal (PCT). A foreign operator was engaged for the first time in the country’s history to operate the CPA-developed PCT in December 2023.