Matarbari Deep Sea Port: Opportunities, Challenges & Economic Benefits
Bangladesh is going through a massive infrastructural development process. Government has introduced many development projects in the last decade. Among them one of the most important and economically beneficial is Matarbari Deep Sea Port Project. Bangladesh currently has two fully operational ports available, Chittagong and Mongla. Chittagong port handles almost 92% of the country’s import and export and 98% of container trade. Though Mongla port can handle larger ships 225 meter in length than Chittagong’s 190 meter, due to infrastructural inabilities Mongla was least favorite to the port users. But after the opening of Padma Bridge and the new mawa expressway Mongla’s use is increasing rapidly. Soon the port will be connected with a direct Railway network which will increase its capacity.
But still, it’s not enough for the country’s increasing demand. Chittagong port currently handles 3.4 million TEU’s per year and it’s working at its top capacity. Bangladesh’s continued growth and increase in industry and other business also increases the country's import and export too. In the upcoming decade the country would need to operate more than two times of her current port capacity. Research of Germany’s Hamburg Port Consulting says that Chittagong port will have to handle 5.6 million TEU containers by 2036. That’s why Matarbari Port is very important for the country’s import and export. After construction , it can facilitate mother vessels and large ships capable of transporting 8500 to 10,000 TEU’s and 80,000 to 100,000 tons of cargo carrying ships.
History of Matarbari Port
The Bangladesh Government was looking forward to construct a deep-sea port way back in 2005. A study at that time found 34 potential sites to construct a deep-sea port. But the site that was recommended was at Moheskhali's Matarbari Point where the current Ultra supercritical power plant is under construction now. Due to political pressure and other reasons the government chose Sonadia Island for the deep sea port project in 2006. But in Sonadia only 14-meter draught can be achieved due to the geographical nature of it. The project was given to China. But the construction didn’t start because of India’s pressure.
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| Matarbari Port Estimated Cost |
Then in 2012--2013 the government selected Payra, in Patuakhali district to build a deep-sea port. Government faced lots of criticism for it as it was located almost 70 km from deep sea. Ramanabad channel which will host the port has been known for its strong current and siltation. So, creating a 16-meter-deep channel (draught proposed for Payra port was 16 meter) and maintaining it will never be economically beneficial. But still the government went for it and Pyara’s construction began. The port is currently under construction.
Meanwhile, the government started building a coal-based power plant at Matarbari, which site was recommended for a deep-sea port back in 2006. the country doesn’t produce enough coal to meet the demand of the powerplant. So, the whole production is based on importing coal which will be imported from South Africa, Australia and Indonesia. But Bangladesh doesn’t have the port facility to anchor mother vessels or long-haul ships which have a minimum 15 meters of draught. So, to supply such amount of coal to the powerplant there are two options
- Import coal on larger vessels and unload it to lighter ships in the outer anchorage, which is costly in the long run and very risky. It can also affect on the continues coal supply for the powerplant.
- Another one is to dig a channel and build a terminal which can accommodate mother vessels.
Government went with the second one. One 14 km long, 250 meters wide and 16-meter-deep channels was being created for the power plant which can easily host large ships that can carry coal for the powerplant.
During the construction process JICA found out the potential of a Deep Sea Port here. They offered the government and government agreed thus the project began.
Features of Matarbari Port
Matarbari port will be operated by Chittagong port authority. The port will be constructed in two phases. First phase’s main purpose is to berth large ships here which can’t be hosted by Chittagong. Ships longer than 190 meters can't berth at Chittagong port. So ships have to anchor at outer anchorage to load and unload. Matarbari will remove this problem. Large ships would be able to anchor at Matarbari. Which will reduce the cost up to 15%. Approach channels width will be increased to 350 meters and channels depth will be increase to 18.5 meter.
Phase 01
Matarbari Port will be the deepest for the country with a maximum 18.5-meter draught. In the first phase of construction, a container terminal would be built on 18 hectares, have a 460-meter berth, be able to accommodate 8,000-10,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels, and have an annual capacity of 600,000 to 1.1 million TEU. The container terminal would then be expanded, comprise 70 hectares, have an 1,850-meter berth, and have a 2.8-million-tonne capacity. CTT, LNG and LPG terminals will be constructed. At those terminals, LNG carriers with a capacity of 1,45,000 m3 and 80,000 DWT coal bulkers will be able to anchor. A multi-purpose terminal would be built on 17 hectares, have a 300-meter berth, and be able to accommodate vessels with up to 80,000 deadweight tonnage (dwt). Its annual capacity would be 2.25 million tons. The port will be connected by Roads and Railway Network. a 26 km road will be constructed to connect the port With Maheskhali Upozila and also a dual gauge double line rail line will be constructed to connect the port with the country's Railway Network.
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Matarbari Port Design |
Phase 2
Three container jetties have been proposed to be constructed on the west side of the deep sea port with a total length of 1,050 m and 131 acres of backyard. For this a new subchannel will be needed from the approach channel. Other facilities will be added too. After finishing phase two, the port will then can handle more than 2.1 millions TEUs a year.
Current Port Facility of Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s ports are operating at their maximum level. Currently Bangladesh has two fully operational ports Chittagong and Mongla. Payra and Matarbari are under construction.
Chittagong Port:
Chittagong port has only 9.5 meters of draught and can host only 190 meters long ships due to its two curves in the Karnafuli channel. The port can handle 3.2 million TEUs yearly and currently it is operating at its maximum capacity. Chittagong Port Handled 3.4 million TEUs in 2021-2022 fiscal year.
The port is under expansion. Two major development projects are underway.
01: The Patenga Container Terminal (PCT): Patenga container terminal is a newly built container terminal of Chittagong port with a maximum capacity of 500,000 TEUs yearly. This terminal will be operational from 2022. It will increase the port's capacity.
02: Chittagong Port Bay terminal : 3 terminal will be constructed at the shore and these three terminals will be able to host 285 meter long ships with 12 meters of draught. When fully operational Chittagong Port’s capacity will be 5 million TEU’s a year. Its construction is also expected to be finished in 2026.
Mongla port:
It's the second operational port of the country. The port has 6-8 meters of draught depending on the tide. The Port can handle upto 100,000 TEU’s and 100 million tons of cargo. It also can handle 20,000+ cars yearly. Handled 24,000 in 2021-2022 fiscal year.
Economic Benefits of Matarbari Deep Sea Port
Matarbari port will strengthen the country's port capacity. It will be the fourth port of the country. The port’s construction is expected to be finished within 2025 and from 2026 it will be fully operational. JICA’s survey team estimated that the port will handle more than 500,000 TEUs from its starting and within 2030 it will cross million.
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| Container Handling Capacity Of Matarbari Deep Sea Port |
The port will reduce the country's import cost up to 15%. It will help the whole county's economy and and estimated that it will increase the GDP to 2%. CTT, LNG, LPG and Crude oil can be loaded and unloaded here too. Deep sea unloading system and storage capacity are under installation process. A double pipe line is also under construction which will directly connect it to Chittagong’s Eastern oil refinery. So oil and gas imports will be easier. Thus oil and gas import costs can be reduced. Eventually oil and gas price reduction will also reduce production cost in every sector.
Matarbari will also increase the port capacity of the country. So it will also attract foreign and local investors. Government has a plan to make an economic zone in Maheskhali. So a huge amount of investments will change this area's economy.
This Port's primary purpose was to anchor coal carriers. 3 coal terminals and storage facility will be constructed here. Here are the power plants that generates electricity from coal in Bangladesh:
As Bangladesh does not produce enough coal , this 4 coal based power plant will have to rely on imported coal from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa. Coals for these 4 power plants will be imported by mother vessels and stored in the storage facility of this port. Then it will be supplied to other plants. This process will also rescue coal import cost and impact the electricity production.
Recently India offer Bangladesh transit facility. They offered to use their ports and other infrastructure to import and export directly with Nepal and Bhutan. So there is a good possibility that when this Port will be operational China, Nepal, Bhutan and even India can also use this port for inter-subcontinental trade. This will be economically and politically beneficial for the country. Government could earn a healthy portion of foreign capital by this. If the road transit starts fully then India's 7 sisters will be able to import products at a lower cost and by implementing charges the government will also be able to collect a good amount of money.
By this port exporters will be able to export their products directly. Currently Bangladesh uses lighter ships to send their products to Singapore or Hamantota. From there mother vessels took the shipment to destinations. Neighboring countries can use this port for their export and import too.
Challenges of Matarbari And other Ports of Bangladesh
The biggest challenge for Bangladesh's ports along with its economy is her transportation and connectivity. Bangladesh government has invested a huge portion of taxpayers money in the transportation sector’s development. But the development does not sync with the current economic growth and their sustainability is questionable.
N01 or the Major National Highway 01 is the backbone of the county’s transportation system which connects the port city Chittagong with capital Dhaka. In the future this will also connect Matarbari Port to Dhaka and the rest of the country too. But the highway’s current condition is not good at all. This highway was extended into 4 lane in 2016. But as the country’s 92% of the import and export happens through Chittagong and most of it is transported by this route, so this highway always stays busy. Currently average top speed of trucks and trailers is 40-45 km/h on it and average top speed of buses is 60 km/h. This road is now serving at its top capacity. More than 30 thousand vehicles use this highway everyday according to the Roads And highways department. But the current number is feared to be double than RHD’s information. The Bangladesh Government had a project to build a 8 lane expressway between Dhaka And Chittagong. But the project was abandoned when the government wanted to build a high speed railway Network between this to major cities. Currently the Bangladesh government is again thinking about the expressway again. But even if the project starts now it will take a long time to finish and Bangladesh has a history of delaying development products. Even if the project starts in 2023, this massive project will take a minimum of 7-8 years to finish if all goes according to plan (around 2030 if it starts in 2023) . And if India started to use Chittagong port for transit then the traffic will be unbearable.
During this time Chittagong port’s bay terminal 01 will be in operation (estimated in 2026/2027). 0.6 million TEU’s containers will be handled by this from its start. And again these containers and cargos will be carried out through Chittagong-Dhaka. And when Matarbari will be operational cargo and container transportation and overall traveling via this route will be a nightmare.
But the current main issue is that the port's 26 km( total 44km) long connectivity road construction hasn’t been started yet which was to be finished in 2020. On the other hand Roads and Highways want to extend the project to 2024. But in reality it will take more time than that. So there is a big possibility that Matarbari Port and the powerplant will not have a connectivity road even after they are fully constructed.
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| Road And Railway Connectivity Of Matarbari Deep Sea Port |
The port will also need railway connectivity. A 23 km long new rail line will be needed to connect the port with the Cox’s Bazar-Chittagong-Dhaka Rail line. But transporting containers by railway needed a good amount of rolling stock, inland container depot, infrastructure and skilled man power sadly none of it were enough. Railway is planning to solve all these issues and have done peaceability studies. But there is no guarantee about when these projects will be physically visible. Cox’s Bazar-Dohazari-Chittagong rail link project which is now under construction will connect the port with the country's Rail Network. This whole rail network will be useless unless railways build a bridge over Karnafuli River Kalurghat point. Railway has the whole design for the bridge it will be a double line two floor 800 meter long bridge with 5 km long viaduct and financing on it is final. Similar bridge over the Rupsha River has taken 9 years to build. But the construction hasn't started yet. Not even bids for it have been called. Railway hopes that this project will need four years to be finished. So even if the construction begins in 2023 the bridge will be finished in 2027 which will be after Matarbari's inauguration.
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