Bangladesh has two major seaports, Chittagong and Mongla.  However, more than 90% of international trade flows through the Chittagong Port, making it an integral part of the subregional transport and logistics network connecting the country with Bhutan, the northeastern states of India, and Nepal to the rest of the world.  While the growing international trade necessitated the expansion of the country’s port capacities and services, it became most important for the country to enhance the efficiency of the transport system in the Dhaka–Chittagong corridor, and particularly the port of Chittagong.

Against this backdrop, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $30.6 million loan for the Chittagong Port Trade Facilitation Project in December 2004. The project was designed to increase the capacity and efficiency of Chittagong Port, particularly the container terminal, to meet the growing demand for improved port services. Specifically, it aimed to facilitate trade, as impact; and increase container terminal capacity, as outcome. It had three components at appraisal ─ the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), Custom House of Chittagong (CHC), and the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) components. 

The CPA component comprised five outputs: (i) installation of a computerized container terminal management system (CTMS) and upgrading of the existing management information system (MIS); (ii) improvement of the port environment and the environmental management capacity of the CPA; (iii) reconstruction and upgrading of internal roads and the bridge between Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT) and the general cargo berths, and improvement of two access and egress gates to expedite intraport traffic flow; and (iv) construction of a 0.9-kilometer port service road and a bridge to provide direct access from the yard to the port park.  The CHC planned outputs included: (i) activation of the manifest module of the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) ++ software, and (ii) installation of a system of container scanners. The RHD) was construct a 1.7-kilometer access-controlled road.

The CPA and RHD components were fully completed as envisaged at appraisal. However, the scope under the CHC component was changed during implementation as the CHC decided to implement an automation program with its own finances and only partly using the ADB loan funds to avoid any duplication.

Completion of the port and connector roads infrastructure generated a 100% increase in import–export freight traffic movement by 2012.  An average 10% annual growth of container throughputs since 2005 was recorded, against the target of above 6% in the first 6 years after project completion in 2012.  Vessel turnaround time was reduced by 28% in 2013, exceeding the target of 20% within 2 years after project completion.  Overall trade via Chittagong Port consequently increased from 25,884,891 tons in 2005 to 41,928,596 tons in 2012, although it dropped to 37,805,605 tons in 2013 due to political turmoil.

Project outcomes and impacts not envisaged at appraisal were also noted by the project completion review mission. For example, about 80% of all traffic to and from the container terminal was using the port connector road built under the project, avoiding congested city roads and contributing to reduced vehicle operating costs and shorter travel times. This helped push down the cost of doing business at Chittagong Port and benefited more than 10,000 direct port users.  Project improvements in the port environment and adjacent maritime zones reduced pollution from vessel oil spills, resulting in a remarkable improvement of the water quality in the Karnafuli River. Further, by operationalizing four container scanners and automated tools for monitoring import and export containers to detect potential security breaches such as human and drug trafficking, the CPA had fully met the requirements specified under the International Shipping and Port Security Code, including those under the container security initiatives launched by the United States Customs in 2002,.

The executing agencies for the project were the CPA under the Ministry of Shipping for the CPA component, the CHC under the Ministry of Finance for the CHC component, and the RHD under the Ministry of Communication (MOC) for the RHD component.