New shipping hub to spur Bangladesh's export growth

A new shipping hub in sight at the Laldia Container Terminal (LCT) will help debottleneck Bangladesh's export growth and lower import costs, resulting in a trade boost, says the global chief executive of the foreign lessee.

"It's going to create a port that can go from the current size of about 3000-TEU ships to double that. And what we know when we double the size of the ships, the slot cost goes down, (and) the efficiency goes up," says Keith Svendsen, Global CEO of APM Terminals.

"And it would really help create much more flow and efficiency in the ocean part of the transport sector," says Mr Svendsen in an exclusive interview with The Financial Express, ahead of deal signing.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) and the APM Terminals will sign today concession agreement in Dhaka to build and operate the new deep-sea shipping facility off the Chittagong seaport.

As already agreed, the company will build and operate the LCT by investing some $550 million as foreign direct investment.

The Netherlands-based major port giant will operate the LCT terminal for a period of 30 years, which can be extended up to 15 more years. The LCT will be fully designed, financed, built, and operated by the investors - a first-of-its-kind model for Bangladesh's port infrastructure.

"We are very proud of this $550 million investment in Bangladesh and the reason why we're excited about it is primarily because we're excited about Bangladesh's future as a country," says Mr Svendsen, explaining the reasons for selecting Bangladesh for the investment.

"And as an economy, there are a lot of big exporters in the world within the garment segment and other segments that are big customers of ours and for many years there has been a wish to see if we could help modernise the logistics sector in Bangladesh," he adds.

Mr Svendsen thinks Bangladesh needs modern ports and more draft for the ship to cater growing external trade. Bangladesh's economy is going to be much bigger and resilient which will produce more trade and therefore more transport is needed.

Asked what local value addition APM Terminals will bring, Mr Svendsen replies: "There will be no difference in how we operate the container terminal in Laldia than how we operate any of the other 60-plus terminals that we operate around the world.

"So the standards for how we deal with the work are the same. I hope we can create some really good jobs. I hope we can really help generating quality, modern jobs in a safe and respectful environment."

The head of APM Terminals notes that when new ports come, they create two types of benefits for local community. "One thing is in the direct employment and the other one is in the social economic benefits in general of secondary jobs. And just generally higher standards for how a modern port can work because it's designed the right way from the beginning."

On environmentally sustainability of the terminal, Mr Svendsen says APM Terminals has made a global commitment to be net zero by 2040. And in the case of this project, the commitment is same.

"The LCT will be designed and operated in accordance with internationally recognised safety and environmental standards, ensuring a secure, efficient, and reliable working environment."

It will engage electrified cargo-handling equipment, install solar power on terminal structures, and shore power-ready systems enabling vessels to plug into the grid. These measures will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and noise and air pollution, benefiting employees, nearby communities and the environment.

Mr Svendsen says the firm always wants to be a common-user facility and this is going to be no different in case of Bangladesh. He remarked in reply to a query whether the LCT will cater only the cargoes of Maersk Line, the parent company of the APM Terminals, or provide service to other shipping companies as well.

He says the LCT may double the current 3,000-TEU limitation of ships that the existing terminals of Chittagong port can handle now.

The company is very good in operating terminals in efficient manner. "You know, 10 out of the 20 most efficient ports in the world have terminals that we operate. So our focus will really be to increase the turnaround time of these ships so they can get their products to the market as fast as possible," he concludes.

syful-islam@outlook.com