Bangladesh and China Sign Investment MoU as Mongla Gets Tk 4,068 Crore Port Project

Mongla brings port expansion, industry and energy into focus

Bangladesh and China signed an agreement on economic and infrastructure cooperation at Mongla Port on Thursday, 5 November 2026, as Prime Minister Tarique Rahman laid the foundation stone for a separate Tk 4,068 crore project to build two container jetties and supporting infrastructure.

The memorandum of understanding, signed between Invest Bangladesh and China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), covers investment opportunities in transport, logistics, industry, energy, environmental projects and skills development. The proposed Bangladesh-China Mongla Economic Zone, covering 110 acres, is also part of the investment discussions.

Prime Minister's Deputy Press Secretary Jahidul Islam Rony said Rahman laid the port project's foundation stone at 11:15 am, after arriving at Mongla by helicopter at 9:50 am. The prime minister also met a Chinese delegation led by CRCC Chairman Dai Hegen and announced plans for energy infrastructure extending from Mongla to northern Bangladesh.

The day's announcements connect three practical needs: places for factories to operate, facilities to move their goods and reliable energy to keep production running. Invest Bangladesh will help prospective investors contact the public bodies and private businesses needed to develop proposals.

Who signed the agreement?

Saleh Ahmed, member of Invest Bangladesh's Industrial Zone Division, signed for the Bangladeshi organisation. Li Chongyang, chairman of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), a CRCC subsidiary, signed for the Chinese side. CRCC is a Chinese state owned company.

Road Transport, Bridges, Railways and Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam, Invest Bangladesh Chairman Ashik Chowdhury and CRCC Chairman Dai Hegen attended the ceremony in Mongla, in Bagerhat district.

Rony described the agreement as a framework for cooperation across several parts of the economy:

The MoU will create scope to expand investment and economic cooperation in infrastructure, transport, logistics, industry, energy, the environment and skills development,

The two organisations will assess investment potential and coordinate engagement with prospective investors. Their stated work covers opportunities across Bangladesh, while Mongla provides a focus through its port and proposed economic zone.

How will the investment framework work?

Invest Bangladesh will connect prospective investors with relevant government organisations and private sector participants, then coordinate their engagement. For an infrastructure proposal, that means bringing together the organisations whose decisions, services or participation are needed to move it forward.

A memorandum of understanding records the areas in which organisations intend to cooperate. Here, the described activities centre on identifying opportunities, assessing their potential and helping investors work with local counterparts. Individual investments would require their own project details and arrangements.

Ahead of the ceremony, Ashik Chowdhury described investment promotion and assistance as the agreement's main purpose. He said CRCC was involved in several sectors in Bangladesh and that CCECC was working on the proposed Mongla economic zone.

The cooperation also covers green infrastructure and human resource development. Green infrastructure means facilities designed with environmental needs in mind. Human resource development means preparing people with the knowledge and skills required for work. The announcement identifies both as areas for future investment cooperation.

Two new jetties for a Tk 4,068 crore port project

Rahman's foundation stone ceremony moved the port expansion programme beyond the scheduled event described earlier in the day. Rony confirmed that the ceremony took place at 11:15 am for a project valued at Tk 4,068 crore.

The project includes two container jetties and related infrastructure intended to increase Mongla Port's cargo handling capacity and modernise its services. A container jetty is a waterside structure where ships berth so that containers can be loaded and unloaded.

The budget equals Tk 40.68 billion, using the South Asian counting unit in which one crore equals 10 million. The stated amount covers the project, including its supporting infrastructure.

Under the revised project proposal, China proposed financing Tk 35.93 billion of the Tk 40.68 billion total investment. The Mongla Port Authority submitted the revised proposal to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval after the project had been put on hold in September 2022 over "geopolitical considerations." CCECC was named as the designated contractor.

For businesses, the intended benefit is more capacity to move goods through Mongla. The new jetties form the port side of a wider effort that also includes industrial investment and transport and logistics cooperation.

A 110 acre economic zone is part of the discussions

The proposed Bangladesh-China Mongla Economic Zone gives the cooperation framework a specific industrial site. An earlier memorandum concerning development of the zone was signed in Beijing on 25 June 2026, more than four months before the Mongla ceremony.

Dai Hegen and Ashik Chowdhury were scheduled to make a separate visit to the proposed zone's 110 acre site ahead of the signing. Chowdhury said the zone was among the projects being discussed under the broader investment agreement.

An economic zone is an area set aside for business and industrial activity, where infrastructure and investor services can be organised around the needs of companies operating there. At Mongla, the proposed zone and the port expansion address different parts of the same business process: producing goods and moving them to customers.

Chowdhury also identified construction of a new Mongla Port terminal among Chinese investment initiatives covered by the wider promotion effort. The agreement therefore brings the economic zone into a larger discussion that includes transport, energy and other infrastructure opportunities.

Rahman calls for energy links to northern Bangladesh

Rahman used his meeting with the delegation led by Dai Hegen to set out an energy ambition extending beyond Mongla. Rony said the prime minister called for adequate electricity and gas supplies to support economic activity and regional development.

Rahman described the proposed direction of that work:

Energy infrastructure will be built from Mongla to the northern region of the country... Adequate power and gas supply must be ensured to accelerate economic activities in this region,

Factories need power to run equipment, while some industrial processes also require gas. Rahman's announcement places those supplies alongside port and industrial development as part of the government's plans for the region.

The announcements gave no detailed cost breakdown, implementation schedule or completion date for the port project, and no route, cost or construction schedule for the proposed energy infrastructure. Those details will determine when businesses and communities can expect the planned facilities to become available.

Cooperation also reaches workers abroad

Rahman urged Chinese investors to support industrialisation and economic activity centred on Mongla. He said cooperation between Bangladesh and China would open opportunities for investment, industrial development and infrastructure.

The prime minister also thanked the Chinese delegation for supporting recruitment of Bangladeshi workers by Chinese companies in the Middle East. That discussion extended the meeting beyond construction and investment inside Bangladesh to employment with Chinese businesses overseas.

Skills development is already included in the memorandum's scope. Taken together, the investment and employment discussions cover both physical facilities, such as ports and industrial sites, and the people needed to build and operate projects.

From the Beijing agreement to the Mongla ceremonies

The Mongla signing followed the June agreement concerning the proposed economic zone. Rahman's visit then brought the investment framework, port foundation stone ceremony and talks with the Chinese delegation into a single morning.

• 25 June 2026: An MoU concerning development of the proposed Bangladesh-China Mongla Economic Zone was signed in Beijing.
• 5 November, 9:15 am: Rahman left the old Tejgaon Airport in Dhaka by helicopter.
• 5 November, 9:50 am: He arrived at the Mongla Port helipad.
• Thursday morning: Invest Bangladesh and CRCC signed the cooperation memorandum, followed by the prime minister's discussions with the Chinese delegation.
• 5 November, 11:15 am: Rahman laid the foundation stone for the Tk 4,068 crore port modernisation project.

Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit, State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shaikh Faridul Islam and State Minister for Shipping and Bridges Md Razib Ahsan were among those who received him at Mongla. Khulna lawmakers Ali Asgar Lobi and SK Azizul Bari Helal also attended the reception.

The remainder of Rahman's itinerary included a visit to the shrine of Hazrat Khan Jahan Ali at Mogra in Bagerhat, followed by travel to Khulna. He was scheduled to attend the opening of Notun Kuri Sports Season 2 at Khulna District Stadium at 3 pm, before departing by helicopter at 4:30 pm and reaching Dhaka's Tejgaon Airport at 5:15 pm.

Key Points

• Invest Bangladesh and CRCC signed an economic and infrastructure cooperation MoU at Mongla on 5 November 2026.
• The framework covers investment opportunities in industry, transport, logistics, energy, environmental projects and skills.
• Rahman laid the foundation stone for a Tk 4,068 crore project involving two container jetties and supporting infrastructure.
• China proposed financing Tk 35.93 billion of the port project's Tk 40.68 billion total investment under the revised proposal.
• The proposed 110 acre Bangladesh-China Mongla Economic Zone is part of the wider investment discussions.
• The prime minister announced plans for energy infrastructure from Mongla to northern Bangladesh and called for adequate electricity and gas supplies.
• Invest Bangladesh will connect prospective investors with public and private organisations and coordinate their engagement.