Payra Port Authority
Profile
- Head
- Rear Admiral Masud Iqbal
- Role
- Chairman
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- —
- Established
- 2013
- Legal basis
- Payra Port Authority Act, 2013 (Act No. LIII of 2013), passed by the National Parliament on 10 November 2013; port inaugurated on 19 November 2013.
Payra Port is operationally compromised by an unchecked navigability crisis: the Rabnabad Channel has silted from 10.5 metres to 5.9-6.5 metres since April 2024, collapsing foreign vessel calls to 17 in H1 FY26 (from 111 in FY23) and forcing coal imports for the Payra power plants through Chattogram. The Tk 6,500 crore maintenance dredging proposal remains unapproved. PPA is pursuing in-house dredger procurement and targeting full operationality by July 2026 under a 19-component plan, with ECNEC having approved Tk 9.11 billion in additional terminal construction funds in March 2026.
Recent activity
- 2026-01-21 other DredgeWire and Daily Star reporting confirmed that the Rabnabad Channel's navigable draft had fallen to 5.9-6.5 metres (tidal range), down from the engineered 10.5-metre depth achieved after Jan De Nul's capital dredging, which Jan De Nul handed over to PPA in April 2024. Following that handover, sediment accumulation reduced depth within six months. As of January 2026, foreign vessel calls at Payra had collapsed to 17 in the first half of FY2025-26, compared with 111 in FY2022-23 and 85 for all of FY2024-25. Coal vessels for the Payra Thermal Power Plant and Norinco RNPL are now discharging at Chattogram outer anchorage and lightering coal to Patuakhali via 200+ lighters monthly, versus 7-8 mother vessels previously. Electricity generation costs rose approximately Tk 0.70 per unit due to the workaround. ↗↗
- 2026-02-01 other Two bridges over the Andharmanik River (total cost Tk 950 crore), part of the direct road link connecting the Payra port terminal to the Dhaka-Kuakata highway, were targeted for completion by February 2026. The bridges form a critical landside connectivity component of PPA's 19-component master plan for full operationality. ↗↗
- 2026-03-09 procurement PPA issued procurement notices in March 2026 including notices on 9 March and 11 March for vessel spare parts and for a solar power system installation project at the port premises, consistent with PPA's eco-friendly upgrade agenda announced for the July 2026 operationality target. ↗
- 2026-03-23 budget ECNEC approved an additional Tk 9.11 billion for the Payra port terminal construction project, raising total approved project cost to Tk 54.27 billion. The original 2019 terminal construction budget was Tk 39.82 billion. The PPA chairman announced a July 2026 full-operationality target at the stakeholder meeting coinciding with this approval. ↗↗
- 2026-04-01 other A Tk 6,500 crore maintenance dredging project for the Rabnabad Channel remained stalled at the proposal stage for nearly a year, with the interim government declining to approve major new projects. PPA simultaneously began procurement proceedings for two in-house hopper dredgers, to be financed from coal handling revenue. Without an approved maintenance dredging contract, the channel depth continues to degrade and shows no recovery from the August 2024 dredging halt. ↗↗↗
Provenance & notes
Payra Port Authority is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Shipping established by Act No. LIII of 2013. The port is Bangladesh's third seaport, located on the Rabnabad Channel in Kalapara Upazila, Patuakhali district. Commercial operations commenced August 2016. The port was originally planned as a deep-sea port but was reclassified to a seaport by 2021 due to insufficient natural depth. The port infrastructure (as of May 2026) includes a 650-metre jetty capable of berthing 3,000-3,500 TEU container vessels, a 3.25 lakh sq metre backup yard, a 10,000 sq metre container freight station, and capacity to accommodate 15 vessels simultaneously. Three coal-based power plants operate along the Payra River in Kalapara Upazila. Rear Admiral Masud Iqbal assumed the chairmanship on 5 January 2025, replacing Rear Admiral Abdullah Al Mamun Chowdhury who returned to the Bangladesh Navy; the transfer notification was signed 17 December 2024 by the Ministry of Public Administration. staff_count and annual_budget_bdt omitted: no primary-source figures found in publicly accessible documents. Cumulative port revenue from August 2016 to December 2025: Tk 1,861.82 crore across 5,338 vessel calls (544 foreign ships). Verification: 2+ primary sources cross-checked for all key claims.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payra_Port_Authority
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Payra
- https://ppa.gov.bd/site/page/0d44bdb6-9468-4d3b-b0de-d1ebb3fabc7c/Welcome-to-Payra-Port-Authority
- https://www.greenwatchbd.com/military/66410/masud-iqbal-takes-charge-as-the-chairman-of-payra-port-authority
- https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/payra-port-complete-upgrade-july-2026-3944066
- https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/navigability-crisis-hits-payra-port-foreign-ship-arrivals-drop-4059941
- https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/payra-port-painful-burden-economy-3855726
- https://dredgewire.com/silt-chokes-payra-port-forcing-vessels-to-chattogram/
- https://dredgewire.com/poor-navigability-hits-payra-port-though-tk-6500cr-spent-on-dredging-2/
- https://en.bonikbarta.com/business/ptS23LxrwdvnOJcq
- https://en.bonikbarta.com/business/TbmAC4qm56gZIxRZ
- https://networkbangladesh.com/payra-port-set-to-become-fully-operational-by-july-2026-aiming-for-deep-sea-capabilities/
- https://www.observerbd.com/news/531206
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/payra-port-signs-deal-belgian-firm-dredge-rabnabad-channel-260119
- https://www.tbsnews.net/thoughts/rethinking-case-payra-port-infrastructure-diversification-priority-1162801
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/46232