APM Terminals Breaks Ground on a $550m Terminal at Chattogram
Laldia will more than double the maximum ship size the Bangladeshi port can handle, from 2,800 to 6,000 teu
APM Terminals has broken ground on the Laldia Container Terminal at Chattogram, a US$550m project that will more than double the size of containership Bangladesh's main port can accommodate.
The scheme is the product of a government-to-government partnership between Bangladesh and Denmark, under which Bangladesh invited Danish shipping and logistics investment into its trade infrastructure. It is being developed with the Chittagong Port Authority and the local partner QNS Container Services Ltd, and will be designed, financed, built and operated by APM Terminals and its partners under a 30-year concession, with the possibility of extension based on performance indicators.
The ownership structure is the point the operator has stressed publicly. The port asset itself remains with Bangladesh throughout the concession, so the country retains its strategic infrastructure while taking private investment and operating expertise. It is the first project of its kind in the Bangladeshi port sector.
Reaching this stage took years. Civil unrest and protests, along with strikes by port workers, delayed progress, and it was the interim government that decided in 2025 to proceed with container terminal concessions despite opposition.
The terminal is expected to become operational in 2030, adding more than 800,000 teu of annual handling capacity and easing congestion at Chattogram for the export sectors that depend on it, principally textiles, apparel and manufacturing. A deeper draught and an extended quay will allow vessels of up to 6,000 teu, against a current limit of around 2,800 teu, which changes the class of service the port can be called at directly rather than through transhipment.
One physical constraint shapes the equipment specification: proximity to Shah Amanat International Airport means the berth will require low-profile ship-to-shore cranes. The design is also intended to make Laldia one of the country's first energy-efficient, low-emission terminals, with electrified cargo-handling equipment, solar installations and shore-power-ready systems, aligned with national climate commitments.
