Shipping company Maersk is to build an inland container depot in Bangladesh to ease worsening congestion at the country's main port of Chittagong, an official said Sunday.

Maersk Bangladesh Limited, a subsidiary of the Danish shipping giant, will construct the 25-acre (10-hectare) container depot at a cost of 20 million dollars next year, company deputy general manager Nurul Alam told AFP.

''We will to build the inland container depot outside Chittagong port. It has become critically important to build the ICD to avoid congestion at Chittagong port,'' he said.

Maersk is the leading shipping operator in Bangladesh, handling around 30 percent of the country's 29 billion dollars plus in annual foreign trade.

Located in southeastern Bangladesh, Chittagong port is the country's main economic lifeline, accounting for 90 percent of its foreign trade.

The port, however, suffers from serious congestion, with the number of containers it handles doubling in the last five years.