Staff reporter:
The government’s renewed focus on Mongla Sea Port is attracting more domestic and foreign investment, raising expectations that the country’s second-largest seaport will become a major economic hub in the south-western region.
The growing investment is expected to boost the port’s handling capacity, create substantial jobs, and accelerate industrialisation and trade across Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira and Jashore districts.
Port authorities said ongoing infrastructure development will transform Mongla into a super modern seaport.
Since forming the government, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has visited Mongla Port twice– on October 22 and November 5.
During his visit on November 5, he laid the foundation stone for the construction of two new jetties at an estimated cost of Taka 4,068.23 crore.
Of the project cost, Taka 3,592.90 crore will come as a loan from China’s Exim Bank while the Bangladesh government will provide Taka 475.33 crore.
Once completed by December 2028, the project is expected to increase the port’s annual container handling capacity to around 3,94,000 TEUs.
Meanwhile, dredging of the Pashur Channel is underway under a Taka 1,538.19 crore project. Work began in July 2026 and is scheduled for completion in December 2029. Upon completion, ships with a draft of 9.5 to 10 metres will be able to berth directly at the Mongla Port jetties, according to port authorities.
To strengthen operational efficiency and security, two powerful tugboats are also being procured under an ongoing project. The procurement process is underway for a buoy-laying vessel, a search-and-rescue vessel, a mother vessel and a hydrographic survey and research vessel.
Besides, the Khulna-Mongla railway line has been constructed under an Indian- funded Line of Credit (LoC) project. A separate project to protect the marine environment by removing waste and spilled oil from ships is nearing completion.
State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Sheikh Faridul Islam, MP, said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visits to Mongla Port within just two weeks of forming the government reflected its special attention to the port.
He expressed optimism that the prime minister’s visits would encourage further domestic and foreign investment centred on the port, transforming it into an economic hub for the southwestern region.
He said industrialisation, expansion of trade and increased foreign investment would create employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of young people, improve the socioeconomic conditions of the region and accelerate the country’s ambition to become a trillion-dollar economy.
Talking to BSS, Rear Admiral Arif Ahmed Mustafa, chairman of Mongla Port Authority, said the foundation stone had been laid for a major Taka 4,068- crore project to develop the port into a super modern economic hub.
Under the project, jetties No. 10 and 11, a container yard covering around 227,000 square metres and a container freight station will be constructed.
These facilities will significantly increase container storage capacity and speed up cargo handling, he added.
He also said an initiative had been taken to introduce direct container train services from Kamalapur Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Dhaka to Mongla Port, which would facilitate faster and cheaper transportation of goods.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Mongla Port Employees’ Association on November 6, Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam said Mongla Port had created enormous economic and strategic opportunities for the southwestern region and the country as a whole.
He said the government has taken various steps, including modernisation and infrastructure development, to establish the port is a major economic hub centering Mongla Port in the southern region.
Rabiul Alam said the establishment of a China EPZ and other major industrial enterprises would expand economic activities in Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira and Jashore districts.
Expansion of the highway from Bhanga to Mongla and the development of new rail connections were also progressing, creating prospects for substantial investment and employment.
He said improved road, river and rail connectivity would turn Mongla into a regional transit hub.
Located only 188 kilometres from Kolkata, the seaport was also gaining additional commercial advantages over Chattogram Port due to easier road access.
Sources said work is also underway to establish economic zones near the port, including the China-Bangladesh Mongla Port Economic Zone.
The proposed facilities for manufacturing, warehousing and logistics are expected to encourage new industries along the Mongla-Bhanga corridor.
Lauding the government initiatives and PM’s recent visits at Mongla Port, businesspeople have expressed satisfaction, saying the port will make huge potential after completion of the government’s development initiatives, including the new jetty construction project.
They are also concerned over persistent operational challenges, particularly the navigability crisis in the Pashur River.
Talking to BSS, Mosharraf Hossain, president of Mongla Port Customs Agents Association, said the country’s second-largest seaport was gradually losing its competitive edge because of inadequate navigability in the river during the past.
This year, the MPA also earned profit over Taka 400 crore due to immediate dredging initiatives by the present government, he said.
Mossarraf also said large vessels had to unload most of their cargo at the outer anchorage before entering the port, increasing transportation costs and disrupting schedules.
As a result, container traders were increasingly shifting to Chattogram Port because of difficulties in ensuring timely delivery of goods.
“The government initiatives will increase vessel arrivals,” he said, adding that it will resolve the navigability problem permanently.
He also called for a high-level government monitoring team to oversee dredging activities and prevent irregularities in project implementation.
Captain Md Rafiqul Islam, chairman of Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, Khulna, said large vessels could not reach the jetties directly and had to unload nearly half of their cargo at the outer anchorage before proceeding to the port with the remaining goods.
Emphasising the need for a permanent solution, Rafiqul Islam, who has been involved in the shipping business since 1993, said the authorities generally addressed problems as they emerged but rarely focused on their root causes through long-term planning.
He said adopting planned management practices similar to those followed at river ports in developed countries could ensure navigability for the next 10 to 15 years without recurring problems.
Contacted Zulfikar Ali, general secretary of Mongla Port Berth and Ship Operators Association, identified three major reasons behind the decline in vessel movements: navigability problems, a reduction in container ship arrivals and fewer gas-carrying vessels.
He said fewer than half the container ships that previously called at the port were now arriving because of inadequate navigability.
Higher container transportation costs from Mongla and frequent disruption of vessel schedules were also discouraging traders.
Zulfikar Ali said exporters often faced difficulties in loading goods onto ships within scheduled deadlines, sometimes prompting foreign buyers to refuse shipments. To avoid such risks, many businesses were increasingly opting for Chattogram Port, he added.
The Mongla Port Users also expressed hope that Prime Minister recent visits at the Port will make a new era in its history, adding that after completion of the new projects to be turned the port as economic hub for southwest, norwest region.
