In 2009, Pacific Consultants International of Japan visited nine potential sites and submitted a survey report recommending the construction of a deep-seaport at Sonadia.

[2][3] The feasibility of seaport development began when three jetties were constructed to bring in materials for the Matarbari coal-based power plant funded by the Japanese agency JICA.

JICA conducted a data collection survey in 2016, which revealed the possibility of developing a commercial port using the channel adjacent to the three jetties.

[4][3][5] The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the construction of the Matarbari port on March 10, 2020.

On 11 November 2023, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the channel and laid the foundation stone of the construction of the terminal.

The vessel was carrying 80,000 metric tonnes of coal for the Matarbari coal-fired power plant, and it was the largest cargo ship berthed at any port jetty in Bangladesh.

[10] In September 2020, Japan International Cooperation Agency won the contract for the consultancy services of Matarbari Port development project.

Two contracts were signed by Roads and Highways Department (RHD) with Oriental Consultants Global Company Ltd and by Chittagong Port Authority with Nippon Koei.

The port's navigation channel connects the 16 m (52 ft) deep water body of the Bay of Bengal to the harbour.

[12][13] The first phase of the port includes two terminals—a general cargo multipurpose terminal and a container terminal—with a quay (wharf) and an inner-bay for tug boats.