The Matarbari deep-sea port in Bangladesh is of interest to Red Sea Gateway Terminals, a Saudi-owned port operator.
This desire was voiced by Amer A. Alireza, the company’s executive chairman, and Professor Muhammad Yunus, its chief advisor, during a meeting on Friday on the fringes of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
According to Amer A. Alireza, they can assist in making Matarbari one of the biggest ports in the area.
The company was pushed by Dr. Yunus, the top advisor, to assist in bringing in more foreign and domestic investment to Bangladesh. According to him, Bangladesh plans to construct additional ports along the Bay of Bengal in order to transform Chittagong into a regional hub for shipping and exports.
The Saudi-owned company is involved in operating the Patenga Terminal. Alireza said the company plans to invest about US$200 million to increase the efficiency and capacity of the terminal. The company recently ordered $25 million worth of container handling cranes and other equipment from China and will order another $25 million worth of equipment in the next few weeks.
Alireza noted that the imported equipment is hybrid. That is, it can run on both electricity and fuel. This will reduce carbon emissions. Alireza described Matarbari as one of the most important deep-sea ports in the region. He said that his company is interested in investing in the port and wants to turn it into a major shipping hub in the region.
He claimed that because of the port’s increased efficiency, many top corporations will be interested in relocating their manufacturing to Bangladesh, making Chittagong Port a key element in luring international investment.
Tarek Ariful Islam, Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, and Lamia Morshed, Principal Coordinator of the Office of the Chief Advisor, attended the meeting.
