Port of Payra

The Port of Payra is a seaport on the shores of Bay of Bengal, located at Kalapara upazila, Patuakhali District, Barisal division, Bangladesh. It was established by an Act of Parliament in 2013. The port was officially inaugurated in 2016. It is located on the Ramnabad Channel near the Bay of Bengal.^[4] The port is undergoing several Development and expansion and the project is expected to be completed in 2020.^[5]

Port of Payra
Port of Payra Location in Bangladesh
Location
Country	Bangladesh
Location	Kalapara, Barisal, Bangladesh
Coordinates	21.9890°N 90.2792°E / 21.9890; 90.2792
UN/LOCODE	BGPAY[1]
Details
Opened	13 August 2016 (2016-08-13)
Owned by	Payra Port Authority
No. of piers	3 piers at the entry gateway designed by Creato Design Research Lab Ltd and constructed by NDE.
Draft depth	6.3 metres (21 ft)[a]
Land Area	6,562 acres (26 Square Km)
Statistics
Annual revenue	US$32 million (2019)

Development

The development works include capital dredging of the port, the inauguration of eight ships, the first terminal, and the construction of a six-lane approach road and a bridge

Capital Dredging

The Payra Port Authority (PPA) signed a deal with Belgium-based dredging company Jan De Nul (JDN) for capital and maintenance dredging of 75 kilometre long main channel of the under construction Payra seaport. In March 2023, JDN completed capital dredging at the port. Now Port Access Channel was declared open for commercial vessels up to a draught of 10.5 m. Country's foreign currency Fund will be used for the dredging work under the Bangladesh Infrastructure Development Fund

Maintenance dredging will keep Port of Payra accessible, and Jan De Nul will perform the maintenance dredging of the port in the next phase of the project. Three Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers will be deployed to the Rabnabad Channel of Payra Port to fulfil the dredging requirements of the coming years.^[6][7]

Background

Payra port was originally planned as China's bid for another deep seaport in its String of Pearls strategy. The construction of the port, which was being financed on a public-private partnership (PPP) platform, was therefore granted to a Chinese company. India, Japan, and the United States opposed the plan.^[8]

In 2016, Indian companies stepped in to invest in the port.^[8] An MoU was signed with Jan De Nul Group in 2016 to dredge the Ramnabad canal.^[9][10][11]

As of 2017, Payra was primarily a governmental route for import and export.^[12]

The Payra Port Authority is an autonomous agency which is responsible for the management of the seaport of Payra.^[13]

As of 2021, plans for a deep seaport at Payra have been shelved and the port was to be developed as a regular seaport.^[11]

Notes

1. The permissible draft is calculated based on tidal range at Kauar Char and all incoming/ outgoing vessels need to cross Kauar Char following the chart.^[2][3]