Port of Payra

The Port of Payra is a seaport located at Kalapara in Patuakhali, 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. The port is undergoing several Development and expansion and the project is expected to be completed in 2020.

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, Jan De Nul completes capital dredging in Port of Payra. 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.

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.

In 2016, Indian companies stepped in to invest in the port. An MoU was signed with Jan De Nul Group in 2016 to dredge the Ramnabad canal.

As of 2017, Payra was primarily a governmental route for import and export.

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

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