The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has recommended signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with four companies to implement the government-to-government (G-to-G) components of Payra seaport. This recommendation was made on October 10 by the PMO at the meeting on coordination of Payra’s development affairs, chaired by the principal secretary to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Abul Kalam Azad.
According to sources in the PMO, the meeting decided to sign an MoU as soon as possible with companies selected by the shipping ministry to speedily implement the Payra seaport project. The selected companies are: China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd for core port infrastructure; China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd for riparian liabilities; India Ports Global Private Ltd (IPGPL) for the 1,000-metre-long multipurpose terminal; and China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd for housing, education and health facilities.
The PMO directed the shipping ministry and the Economic Relations Division (ERD) to immediately undertake the signing of the MoU with the selected companies.   
Earlier, shipping minister Shajahan Khan had said the Payra seaport would be built on the basis of government-to-government (G-to-G) and foreign direct investment (FDI) components.
Shajahan Khan said the government would provide land and build infrastructure for the seaport. Foreigners would invest their money in the project, but the Bangladesh government would not be required to make any direct financial investment, he said. In October last year, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved a project for ‘Developing Infrastructure Facilities for the Operation of the Payra Deep Seaport’. According to the project plan, the third phase of the construction of the seaport would be completed by 2023. The operations of the port would start in full swing that year. The costs of cargo handling would be reduced by three times when the Payra port operates in full swing. The Payra deep seaport, a high-priority project of the government, is situated on the west bank of the Ramnabad channel at Kalapara upazila in Patuakhali district. The channel’s outer part has a depth of 16 to 21 metres, which would enable high-draft vessels to move easily. Again, the PMO has directed the Patuakhali district administration to resolve the existing problems to acquire land for Payra seaport. A proposal for the acquisition of 7,000 acres of land has been sent to the authorities for their administrative endorsement, sources added.