Posted on March 31, 2025
Mother vessels can no longer berth directly at Payra
Despite spending Tk 6,500 crore on capital dredging, poor navigability has crippled Payra Port, forcing many importers to offload their cargoes either at sea or at Chittagong Port and then transport it through lighter vessels.
Take the case of coal transportation for the 1,320MW Payra Thermal Power Plant and the RPCL-Norinco International Power Limited (RNPL) plant established in the area.
Due to the shallowing of the Rabnabad channel, mother vessels can no longer berth directly at Payra Port, and power producers now offload coal at Chattogram Port and transport the fuel by lighter vessels to Payra.
This increases transportation costs. The additional cost is being added to electricity production, ultimately raising power generation expenses and increasing consumer dissatisfaction.
The Payra Power Plant contributes 10 percent of the country’s total electricity demand and consumes over 300,000 tonnes of coal per month.
“Previously, we directly offloaded imported coal from Indonesia at Payra Port using mother vessels,” said Shah Abdul Mawla, project director of Payra Thermal Power Plant.
“But now, with navigability dropping significantly, we are forced to use Chattogram Port as an intermediary. This has increased coal transportation costs to $13-15 per tonne, whereas earlier, it was $10-12 per tonne,” he said.
Initially dubbed a deep-sea port, the previous Awami League government began constructing Payra Port in 2013, with commercial operations starting in August 2016. The government cancelled the plan in 2021.
In the same year, it hired Belgian firm Jan De Nul to carry out capital dredging at a cost of Tk 6,500 crore to increase the draft of the Rabnabad channel to 10.5 metres so that larger vessels could enter the port.
They handed over the dredged channel to the port authority in April 2024.However, within just six months, sediment accumulation drastically reduced the depth.
Currently, the depth stands at 6.5 metres during high tide and 5.9 metres during low tide, making it impossible for relatively larger vessels to berth and preventing increased usage.
Ashraf Uddin, superintendent engineer of RNPL, said they repeatedly notified the Payra Port authorities about the declining navigability.
“But the situation is worsening day by day. Large coal-laden ships can no longer reach the port, forcing us to rely on lighter vessels,” he said.
Radiant Shipping Agent Abu Sayeed said, “Due to sedimentation, we are now forced to rely on lightering, which increases both cost and time. Maintaining navigability is crucial for Payra Port to remain viable.”
Since the completion of dredging in April last year, navigability has steadily declined.
Rear Admiral Masud Iqbal, chairman of Payra Port Authority, acknowledged the crisis.
“Despite the completion of capital dredging, sedimentation has led to the rapid shallowing of the Rabnabad channel,” he said.
“We conducted an emergency maintenance dredging operation that lasted until August 14, but a long-term solution requires continuous dredging,” he said.
He also mentioned that a development project proposal has been submitted to the Planning
Commission for approval and a response is expected within the next two months.
The government also plans to purchase hopper dredgers to build in-house dredging capacity.
Last week, the much-talked-about port came into the spotlight after Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud termed the seaport a “painful abscess” on the country’s economy.
“This port can barely function as a river port, let alone a seaport,” he said at a press briefing on March 23 following a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec).
Ecnec approved a revised project proposal for the first terminal and related facilities of Payra Port, increasing the total cost by Tk 911 crore to Tk 5,228 crore. The project’s deadline has also been extended to December 2026.
After the meeting, Wahiduddin said the government approved the revised project on the condition that it retains the scope to intervene at any time.
“The additional funds are required not only for previous financial commitments but also for continuous dredging,” he said.
He said the entire channel is long and extensive, and without annual dredging, even small vessels will struggle to bring coal to the power plant. Moreover, expensive dredgers will be needed every year to keep operations running.
The port started handling imported cargoes in the fiscal year 2016-17, and handling grew over time, though its activities remain confined to handling coal for the power plant.
Large-scale use of the port has yet to start, as navigability issues persist and the required facilities are yet to be developed.
The port handled 1,014 ships, including 123 foreign ships, in fiscal year 2023-24.
Cargo handling rose by 33 percent year-on-year to 50.74 lakh tonnes in FY24.
