Bangladesh signs 30-year Maersk lease for main port

DHAKA: Bangladesh signed on Monday a 30-year lease with global shipping giant Maersk to run a new container terminal at its largest port, a major deal inked despite dockers’ concerns.

“It will be our economic gateway. It will open doors to the future” and help boost economic growth, interim leader Muhammad Yunus said in a statement.

Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest garment exporter, relies heavily on Chattogram port – formerly known as Chittagong and strategically located on the Bay of Bengal – for the vast majority of imports and exports.

The port is Bangladesh’s main trade gateway and a vital hub in the global garment supply chain.

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Shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk will develop the Laldia Container Terminal on the city’s outskirts through its APM Terminals subsidiary, according to Yunus’s statement.

“This is a new beginning for the country,” the interim leader said.

The lease agreement “opens a new door for larger and more diversified investment”, he added.

Officials at the Chattogram Port Authority said the contract involves APM Terminals investing about $550 million over the next three years to develop the site, boosting cargo-handling efficiency, safety and transparency.

APM Terminals will then operate the facility for the remainder of the 30-year concession.

This is the first major port deal signed with foreign firms under Yunus, whose interim administration took over after the government of Sheikh Hasina was toppled in a mass uprising in August 2024.

The role of foreign operators has sparked anger among some, with dockers this month escalated a strike, worried for their jobs.

But supporters of the project say foreign expertise and investment would modernise operations.

UAE-based DP World has expressed interest in operating another facility, Chattogram’s New Mooring Container Terminal, and port officials say contract negotiations continue.

The government is also in talks with Medlog SA, part of the Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), for an inland terminal on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.