Mongla Port Gets a Tk4,000 Crore Push to Build Its First Container Jetties

The government is putting more than Tk4,000 crore into Bangladesh's second-largest seaport, building Mongla Port's first container-handling jetties and a set of supporting facilities meant to turn a long-underused gateway into a genuine alternative to Chittagong. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is expected to lay the foundation stone for the project, titled Expansion and Modernisation of Facilities at Mongla Port, on November 5, with China financing the bulk of the construction through a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China.

• The Mongla Port Authority will build two container jetties for the first time, along with container storage yards, adding about 400,000 TEUs of annual container capacity.
• China is financing roughly Tk3,600 crore of the project through the Export-Import Bank of China, with Bangladesh covering the remainder.
• Container volumes at Mongla already rose 38 percent in FY2025-26 to 29,700 TEUs, and cargo volumes rose 18 percent to 1.22 crore tonnes.
• Total annual cargo capacity at the port is expected to reach 1.5 crore tonnes once the new facilities and 49 pieces of modern equipment are in place.

What is actually being built

Mongla has operated for decades without a dedicated container jetty, relying instead on five bulk jetties that also handle containers as a secondary function. The new project changes that, adding two purpose-built container jetties, container storage yards, and separate facilities for hazardous cargo. The shipping ministry says the upgrade will bring 49 pieces of modern handling equipment and lift the port's handling rate to more than 30 containers an hour. Combined, officials expect the port's total annual cargo capacity to climb to 1.5 crore tonnes.

Metric	FY2025-26	Change
Container volume	29,700 TEUs	+38% year on year
Cargo volume	1.22 crore tonnes	+18% year on year
Used-car arrivals	about 12,000 units	+4% year on year
Average turnaround time	3.44 days	-

Why China is paying for most of it

About Tk3,600 crore of the roughly Tk4,000 crore project is coming from a Chinese loan arranged through the Export-Import Bank of China, with the China International Development Cooperation Agency and Bangladesh's Economic Relations Division signing the financing agreement on June 25, 2026, during the prime minister's visit to China. China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation, will serve as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor. The financing arrives alongside a broader push for Chinese infrastructure and industrial investment in Bangladesh: a high-level delegation led by CRCC chairman Dai Hegen was due to meet the prime minister on November 5, with Invest Bangladesh and CRCC expected to sign a separate memorandum of understanding on investment cooperation covering special economic zones and industrial projects more broadly.

"The expansion could make Mongla an alternative trade gateway, especially for southwestern businesses," said Mongla Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral Arif Ahmed Mustafa.

The obstacles that have held Mongla back

Mongla sits roughly 100 kilometres inland from the sea, and poor navigability in the Pashur Channel has long limited the size of vessels that can call there, while the port still lacks a scanner facility, slowing cargo clearance compared with more modern terminals. The Mongla Port Authority is running a separate five-year dredging programme on parts of the Pashur Channel specifically to address the navigability problem, work that will need to continue alongside the new jetty construction if the investment is to pay off. Rear Admiral Mustafa, the port authority chairman, said attracting more cargo and shipping lines, improving road connections to the port, and ensuring year-round navigability are what he called crucial to getting a return on the new investment, a frank acknowledgment that new jetties alone will not be enough.

What it means for you

For businesses in Khulna, Bagerhat, Jashore and the wider southwestern region, a functioning container port closer to home than Chittagong could meaningfully cut inland transport costs and turnaround times for both imports and exports, provided the road links and channel dredging keep pace with the new jetty capacity. For the country's exporters more broadly, a credible second container gateway reduces reliance on a single port and the congestion risk that comes with it, something garment and other exporters have felt acutely during periods when Chittagong has been under strain. It will likely take several years before Mongla's expanded capacity meaningfully shifts trade patterns, so this is a story to track over the medium term rather than one with immediate price effects for consumers.

What to watch next

The project's success will hinge on three things moving together: construction of the jetties themselves, the pace of the Pashur Channel dredging programme, and whether shipping lines actually choose to route more vessels to Mongla once the capacity exists. A new jetty with no corresponding improvement in channel depth or shipping line interest would leave Mongla with better infrastructure but the same underlying constraints. Watch for updates on the dredging programme's progress and any early announcements from shipping lines about adding Mongla port calls as the clearest signs the investment is translating into real trade activity.