The proposal for the Bay Terminal stemmed from the necessity to address capacity limitations at the adjacent Chittagong Port. Chittagong Port has a maximum draft of 9.2 meters, which necessitates the use of smaller vessels to transport cargo to and from large ocean freighters anchored in the bay. In response to this, plans were put forth for the development of a new port in close proximity to Chittagong Port, known as the Bay Terminal.
The Bay Terminal would have two Dolphin jetties – one for handling coal to be imported for coal-fired plants in Bangladesh and the other for handling cement clinkers.