The Grand Port City of Chittagong, once called the Porte Grande by the Portuguese sailor-merchants, in Bangladesh did not have a public university for long to meet the higher educational needs of the students of Chittagong division. There was a growing demand for a public university among the people of this region in which various modern academic disciplines would be set up in order to develop skilled and knowledgeable human resources. Keeping this in view, the then Government of Pakistan decided to establish a university, to be called the University of Chittagong in the mid-sixties. The decision was gradually implemented at different phases. The major growth of this university occurred during the period following the emergence of Bangladesh as a sovereign country in 1971. Originally, the Government of Pakistan planned to develop it as a fully residential public university, but this goal could not be materialized at any point of time due to non-availability of adequate funds from relevant sources.

The campus is quite big, stretching over 1754 acres of land decked with hills and dales’ lakes and ponds and stunningly green tall trees. On the softer flat lands grass grows for cattle to graze-a lot of them come from the nearby villages. The campus’s idyllic setting is played up further on bright sunny days by the magnificent backdrop of the distant ranges of the Rangamati-Kaptai Hills. Topographically, the campus is situated at a sufficient elevation as not to be affected by seasonal flooding.

The University main complex includes Dr. A. R. Mallik Bhaban (Administrative Building), Professor Abdul Karim Bhaban (Arts Faculty Building), Science Building, Biological Science Faculty Building, Business Administration Faculty Building, Nobel Laureate Professor Dr. Younus Bhaban (Social Science Faculty Building), Law Faculty Building, Institute of Marine Sciences and Fisheries Block, Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences Building, Centre for Mathematical and Physical Sciences Building, IT Building, Library Building, Teachers’ Residential Area (Duplex and General), Dormitory Buildings, Guest House, Gymnesium, Auditorium, Engineering Office, Printing Press, Post Office, two branches of Banks, Teachers’ Lounge, Teachers’ Club, Officers’ Club, Staff Lounge, Staff Club, Medical Block, and numerous other such structures.

Communication

Chittagong can be reached from the capital city of Dhaka by air, train and road. The most pleasant time for traveling to Chittagong is between August and early March as it can be very humid and wet from April to July due to torrid summer days and heavy monsoon rains. The city has some good hotels available at modest rates, about US$ 10-70 per day. The University guest house has a limited number of rooms where guests can reside by advance booking. It takes 40-50 minutes to reach the campus from Chittagong city by car or bus. During on-session a 10-compartment university train shuttles between the city and the campus several times every day. Recently, Mini-bus services between the city and campus have been introduced.