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Metropolis Desk-
As talks for Riyadh’s newest investment in the South Asian country get underway, officials told Arab News that Bangladesh is counting on Saudi experience to handle a newly built terminal in the country’s major port.
The Bangladeshi Ministry of Shipping chose Red Sea Gateway Terminal, a Saudi port developer, to run the brand-new $240 million Patenga Container Terminal in Chittagong Port, making it the first foreign corporation to accept Dhaka’s offer to run its ports.
According to Abul Bashar, director-general of programming and investment promotion at Bangladesh’s Public Private Partnership Authority, “RSGT will operate the newly built Patenga Container Terminal,” according to Arab News.
As stated by Bashar, this is the first time the government has allowed a foreign organization to run the biggest port in the nation.
Hopefully, RSGT will be able to take over the terminal operations by the end of the year, he continued.
The Patenga terminal, which accounts for 5–7 percent of all activities in Chittagong, will be outfitted, run, and maintained by RSGT under the anticipated agreement, with the Chittagong Port Authority managing the remaining 80–95 percent.
During the next 22 years, the Saudi business will run Patenga. Bashar stated that the first two years would be devoted to setting up and installing equipment and that Dhaka anticipates RSGT to “use all ultra-modern equipment and technology.”
“RSGT has a proven track record in Saudi Arabia and other nations for managing port operations efficiently,” added Bashar.
The Bangladeshi government thinks there will be a chance for technology transfer in the future if a company like RSGT participates in these port operations activities.
According to former RSGT CEO Jens O. Floe, the company’s “proposed investment is a vote of confidence in Bangladesh’s future.”
The Saudi company also said that the skills of RSGT and Chittagong’s quick development are complementary.
“Further investments in cutting-edge technology, contemporary machinery, and expanding human capacity are required due to the cargo quantities at Chittagong Port’s rapid rise. Gagan Seksaria, director of global investments at Red Sea Gateway Terminal, stated in a statement last August that this project “fits well with Red Sea Gateway Terminal’s competencies and its expansion plan for emerging countries.
“We are very confident that this investment will enable us to make a significant contribution to Bangladesh’s rapidly expanding trade and economy.”
The busiest container port on the Bay of Bengal is Chittagong Port, which in the fiscal year 2021 handled around 3.2 million 20-foot equivalent units and functioned as the primary entry point for Bangladesh’s maritime cargo import and export. This includes items from the nation’s apparel industry, which accounts for 11 percent of its gross domestic product and 80 percent of exports.
Source- Arab News
