Swiss firm to run Pangaon container terminal for 22 years
The government has finalised the process to appoint Switzerland-based logistics firm Medlog SA to manage and operate the Pangaon Inland Container Terminal in Keraniganj for 22 years.
An agreement is expected to be signed tomorrow between the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) and the Swiss firm, a subsidiary of the global shipping line Mediterranean Shipping Company, CPA Secretary Md Omar Faruk said.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The CPA will also sign a 33-year agreement with APM Terminals BV, a Dutch subsidiary of the AP Moller-Maersk Group, to develop and operate the Laldia Container Terminal at Chattogram port under a public-private partnership framework, he added.
The CPA is signing these deals at a time when different organisations are opposing the government's plan to lease various terminals of Chattogram port to foreign companies.
The Pangaon terminal was built on the Buriganga River in 2013 by the CPA and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority to reduce cargo pressure on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway and rail corridors.
However, businesses have shown little interest in using the Pangaon terminal for containerised cargo to and from Chattogram port due to high inland water transport costs, lengthy customs clearance, and other challenges.
To ensure uninterrupted and cost-effective services, the shipping ministry decided in 2023, following the CPA board's approval, to appoint a terminal operator on a long-term basis through the Expression of Interest (EOI) system.
Accordingly, an invitation for EOI was issued on April 28, 2024, to appoint a terminal operator for 12 years at the Pangaon terminal.
Six firms purchased the pre-qualification documents, and by the submission deadline on September 5, 2024, three firms — Medlog SA, HR Lines Limited, and Saif Powertec Ltd — submitted pre-qualification proposals. These proposals were found substantially responsive by the pre-qualification evaluation committee formed by the shipping ministry.
In July this year, the CPA board decided to appoint a terminal operator for 22 years to attract long-term investment at Pangaon and obtained the ministry's approval.
Following the CPA board's decision, Request for Proposal (RFP) documents were issued on October 4 to the three firms deemed substantially responsive by the evaluation committee. By the RFP submission deadline on November 5, two firms — Medlog SA and HR Lines Limited — submitted their proposals.
According to sources at the CPA, at 12:30pm on the same day, the tender opening committee opened the submitted RFPs in the presence of the bidders' representatives.
A seven-member RFP evaluation committee, formed by the ministry and led by the CPA member (Harbour and Marine), completed the evaluation of the technical proposals the following day, November 6.
A CPA official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the evaluation committee found that Medlog SA's technical offer scored 100 out of 100 points in six technical categories, including financial model, cargo handling equipment and performance specifications, emergency plan for fire, marketing plan, and financing plan.
Finding no issues with the technical offer, the committee declared Medlog SA's proposal responsive, the official said.
The other firm, HR Lines, scored 60 because it did not submit two of the six items in the technical scoring of its RFP and was declared unresponsive, he added.
The evaluation committee chief, CPA Member (Harbour and Marine) Commodore Ahamed Amin Abdullah, could not be reached for comment despite repeated calls.
LALDIA TERMINAL PROJECT
Under the concession agreement to be signed, APM Terminals will take about three years to complete the construction and commissioning of the Laldia Container Terminal in Chattogram and will operate it for 30 years. There is a possibility of a 15-year extension.
According to the agreement, APM Terminals BV is expected to bring in foreign direct investment of around USD 550 million, equivalent to about Tk 6,700 crore, for the construction of the greenfield port terminal at Laldia.
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