CHITTAGONG, Apr 25: The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) is going to arrange a first ever Bangladesh Port Expo-2017 on Thursday marking the 130th Port day, reports BSS.

The two-day exposition will be held at the CPA car shed in the port city, sources concerned said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the expo through video conferencing and exchange of views with the port users and businessmen in the port city while Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed will attend the concluding function on April 28 as the chief guest.

CPA Chairman Rear Admiral M Khaled Iqbal informed this to the journalists on Tuesday at a press conference.

He said over 130 stalls have been set up by the different port stakeholders at the fair venue covering over one lakh square feet area.

A new small port will be built in the middle point of Mirsharai and Sitakunda upazila of the district, he informed.

The CPA, he said, is taking preparations to set up the port as the government has proposed to establish Dhaka-Chittagong-Cox’s bazar an economic corridor and a techno economic feasibility study is being carried out to this end.

He said the CPA is going to set up the first-ever bay terminal on 1,200 acres of land in the sea to enhance the growth and productivity of the country’s premier sea port as well as to cope with the ever-growing pressure on export import container handling by the port.

The feasibility study of the terminal which is expected to usher a new era in container handling will be completed next month with the land acquisition process going on in full swing, he informed.

Referring to enhancement of the CPA productivity, the port chairman said the congestion of vessels and other problems will reduce to a great extent when equipments worth about Tk 20 billion is procured very soon.

“The productivity of the port is gradually increasing and the CPA has taken initiative to build Bay-Terminal and another new port,” the CPA chairman said.

He projected different activities of the Chittagong port including turnaround of ships, number of vessels, cargo and container handling capacities and its work plan for the next five years.

News source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/04/26/170950