C T Online Desk: The much awaited Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) could not be commissioned despite the extension of the project by two and a half years. The project was scheduled to be completed by December 2019 as per the schedule after DPP approval on June 13, 2017 and foundation stone laying on September 8 of the same year. At that time, only 45% of the work was completed on time, even though the impact of Corona did not hit Bangladesh.
Exactly three months after that, in March 2020, the corona epidemic started in the country. As a result, the port had initially proposed extending the project till June 2021 due to slow progress. The scheduled time also ends, but the work is 70% completed. Therefore, to complete the remaining 30% of the work, the Ministry of Shipping again extended another year till June 2022. At the end of that extended period, on July 21 of this year, it was informally reported that the PCT would be able to launch ships, but in the end, Patenga Container Terminal is not operational even in July. Meanwhile, the appointment of a foreign operator to operate the PCT was finalized after the construction of the project was about 50 percent complete.
The project entitled ‘Equip, Operate and Maintenance of PCT on PPP Model’ was adopted with the aim of appointing an international standard private operator for the project under the purview of Chittagong Port Authority in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) system. Which was approved by the government on March 3, 2021. However, even after 15 months of approval, the concerned could not decide which foreign company will manage the PCT, a sources said.
