The role of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) for the development of Chittagong Port, Bangladesh.

Abstract

Port development is crucial for Bangladesh, given that the country's dependence on maritime trade accounts for 33% of its total trade. The backbone of the country's economy is the prime port of Chittagong, which manages over 92% of all seaborne trade. However, this port has numerous disputes with different maritime sectors within its port boundaries, and terrestrial pollution has an adverse impact on port activities. In recent times, numerous coastal nations have employed Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) to foster the growth of sectors such as port and shipping, tourism, renewable energy, fisheries, and more. MSP appears as an optimal tool to minimize stakeholder disputes and improve the all-encompassing use of resources via collaborative management techniques. The focus of the article was to identify the major problems facing the Chittagong port in relation to MSP and investigate  the role of MSP in addressing those problems. Information from primary and secondary sources was combined in the study using a qualitative methodology. A total of twelve semi-structured interviews were carried out in a variety of maritime sectors in order to collect primary data. The findings of this research could include conflict resolution, the involvement of many maritime stakeholders, economic benefits through the reduction of dredging cost and environmental sustainability of port as well as the ocean.