Mongla Port’s $335.78 Million Loan Backs Two New Container Terminals

Mongla Port’s expansion has secured USD 335.78 million in concessional financing for two container terminals and related infrastructure, with completion scheduled for December 2028. The loan agreement was signed on 10 October by Alia Meher, joint secretary of Bangladesh’s Economic Relations Division, and Tian Fengjun, deputy general manager of the Export-Import Bank of China. The Mongla Port Authority will implement the project.

The financing carries a 2% annual interest rate and a 20-year repayment term, including a five-year grace period. It is designated for the port works, which are part of a broader expansion initiative approved in February 2025 at a total scale of BDT 40.68 billion, or approximately USD 3.305 billion. That larger plan lists BDT 35.93 billion (about USD 2.919 billion) in financing from the Export-Import Bank of China and BDT 4.75 billion (about USD 386 million) in Bangladesh counterpart funding.

Terminals, equipment and channel works

The project calls for two container terminals, with container yards, delivery yards and cargo handling yards. Planned equipment includes portal cranes, automated freight systems, and heavy-duty loading and unloading machinery. Together, the new facilities and equipment are intended to add handling capacity at the port; the source does not provide a separate capacity target for the completed terminals.

Work also extends beyond the quayside. Dredging and widening along the Pashur River are intended to increase channel depth and allow larger-tonnage container vessels and gearless ships to reach the port. That access will depend on the channel works being completed alongside the terminal infrastructure, since terminal capacity alone does not determine which vessels can call.

The Mongla Port Authority signed a commercial contract with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation in March 2025. The project is proceeding under a government-to-government cooperation framework. The loan agreement now sets out the financing terms for the port improvements, while the December 2028 completion date gives operators and cargo interests a stated horizon for the planned capacity additions.

A second gateway for Bangladesh

Mongla lies on the Pashur River in Bagerhat District in southwestern Bangladesh. It is approximately 80 kilometres from the Indian border and around 200 kilometres from the Bay of Bengal. It is Bangladesh’s second-largest port, while Chittagong remains the country’s largest and handles the overwhelming majority of its foreign trade volumes.

Mongla’s current annual operating capacity is reported at 1,500 vessel calls, 15 million tonnes of cargo, 100,000 TEUs and 20,000 vehicles. Those figures provide a baseline for the expansion, though the project description does not state how much each measure is expected to rise. For shippers, the practical change will depend on the completed terminals’ throughput, equipment availability and the depth and navigability achieved along the river channel.

The expansion is intended to give Bangladesh more room to handle cargo outside its busiest gateway. A stronger Mongla could complement Chittagong and provide another routing option for cargo moving through the country. That would make the port system less concentrated, although the source does not quantify how much traffic might shift between the ports.

Chittagong’s operating arrangements form part of the wider port picture. The source reports that the port concluded a 15-year container terminal concession agreement with DP World, with a plan to bring in an external operator and advance terminal digitalisation and operating efficiency. Workers have resisted the arrangement through multiple strikes, leaving its implementation outlook uncertain. Mongla’s expansion offers a separate capacity project within Bangladesh’s port network; its schedule and results are distinct from the unresolved outlook at Chittagong.

Regional access and next milestones

Mongla’s location near northeastern India also creates the potential for it to serve transit cargo destined for that landlocked region. The proposed role would connect seaborne freight with inland waterway movements, linking a southwestern Bangladesh port with cargo markets beyond the country. The source describes this as a potential use, rather than a confirmed volume or established service.

Additional terminal and cargo handling capacity could support industrial, warehousing and logistics activity in southwestern Bangladesh. The port’s position on the Bay of Bengal may also give container operators another routing option in the regional network. Those outcomes will depend on delivery of the terminal facilities, equipment and river improvements described in the project plan.

The immediate markers are the construction schedule and completion target: the Mongla Port Authority is responsible for implementation, and the works are due to finish in December 2028. Once the terminals and channel upgrades are in place, the key operational measure will be how effectively the port can combine vessel access, yard space and handling equipment to serve cargo flows through Bangladesh and the surrounding region.