Bangladesh’s first deep seaport opened in April 2023 when a 13-metre draft coal-carrying ship moored at Matarbari in Maheshkhali of Cox’s Bazar.
In 2016, the government took up the coal power project in Matarbari. To implement it with JICA’s funding, a 14.3km long, 16-metre deep and 250-metre wide channel was constructed from the Bay of Bengal to Matarbari by the Power Generation Company Bangladesh.
It was handed over to the Chittagong Port Authority in September 2023. However, within two years, silt started accumulating in the channel, reducing the depth to 10 metres in places.
This prompted Chittagong Port to begin dredging with its dredger to protect the channel. The first phase of dredging was carried out last month. Although the dredger has been dredging Karnaphuli for a long time, this is the first time it is dredging a deep seaport channel.
Chittagong Port Authority’s Chief Hydrographer Commander Mohammad Shamsit Tabriz said, “In the last year, we have conducted several surveys and found that the navigability has decreased significantly here. We’re targeting the areas where navigability dropped the most.”
The dredger is facing various challenges, especially since the breakwater and the channel are not yet stable and sediment is accumulating. The port authorities hope the dredger will be more effective as its capacity exceeds those deployed through tenders.
Chittagong Port’s Senior Dredging Master Lt Commander Md Ashiqe Mahmud said the clay soil in the Matarbari channel is more difficult to remove than the sandy soil of the Karnaphuli channel.
“This is a little challenging but we’ll overcome it soon,” he said.