Payra Port to get maintenance dredging, two new dredgers to restore navigability

The government is planning to undertake maintenance dredging of the Rabnabad Channel and procure two trailing suction hopper dredgers to ensure uninterrupted navigability and bolster the operational capacity of Payra Port, Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam told Parliament today (10 June).

Responding to a question from BNP lawmaker ABM Mosharrof Hossain (Patuakhali-4), he said the Payra Port Authority has been implementing a number of development projects and schemes aimed at establishing a fully-fledged seaport.

The minister said capital and maintenance dredging work on the Rabnabad Channel completed in April 2024, enabling the channel to accommodate vessels up to 225 metres in length, with a draught of 10.5 metres and carrying capacity of up to 45,000 tonnes.

However, the channel's navigability has gradually been declining due to the absence of regular maintenance dredging in the highly sediment-prone waterway, he added.

"Bangladesh is an active delta. A significant volume of sediment flows through the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system. The Rabnabad Channel is formed by the confluence of several distributaries of the Meghna River, making it highly prone to siltation," Rabiul said.

He noted that maintaining the channel for large oceangoing vessels requires not only capital dredging to increase depth but also regular maintenance dredging to preserve navigability.

According to the minister, a project proposal titled "Maintenance Dredging of Rabnabad Channel and Procurement of Two Hopper Dredgers" has been prepared by the Payra Port Authority, aiming to reduce dredging costs through performance-based dredging and build the port's own dredging capability.

The revised Development Project Proposal (DPP), restructured following a Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) meeting, is currently under process at the Ministry of Shipping, he said, adding that necessary steps will be taken soon to secure approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).

Rabiul also highlighted the strategic importance of the port, noting that two large coal-fired power plants with a combined generation capacity of 2,640 megawatts have been established in the Payra Port area and rely on the Rabnabad Channel for coal transport.

He said effective operation of the port is crucial for industrialisation, employment generation and socio-economic development in the economically less-developed south-central region of the country.

The minister expressed hope that full-scale port operations will begin in early 2027 when ship handling activities commence at the port's own jetty.

If the proposed dredging and dredger procurement project is approved, Payra Port is expected to be able to receive all types of vessels of up to 220 metres in length, 10.5 metres in draught and carrying up to 45,000 metric tonnes by 2027-28, he added.