Photo: Collected
As export-import activities have been falling throughout the current year due to inflation caused by the Russo-Ukrainian War, one of the busiest ports of world Chottogram Port’s activities have declined by 30 to 35 percent, resulting in a decline of the port income by 25 percent, according to port authority.
After the withdrawal of a world-wide lockdown triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, Chattogram sea port has become one of the most important ports globally. In 2020, the port had slipped nine notches to rank 67th among 100.
Currently, the port is handling 45,000-48,000 TUES daily which was 67,000-70,000Tues daily previously thus the revenue shortfall. The current revenue has declined by 20 to 25 percent.
Md Ruhul Amin Sikder, Secretary, Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) told the Daily Messenger, “Yes, we are incurring losses for the current year as export and import activities of the country have fallen considerably. This has resulted in the shortfall in revenue by about 25 percent.
The port authority thinks they will face further shortfall in revenue collection in the months of June and July. They predict that the port will handle about 50 – 52 lakhs TUES only.
Currently, some 54,000 empty containers are stuck at the port though export-import has gone down.
Normally, the depot earns Tk 10 crore to Tk 11 crore monthly which has gone down to Tk 7 crore, the port Authority said.
Some 50 percent of the containers get empty on the port premises while the rest 50 percent go to different ship yards and Dhaka Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Kamalapur which causes accumulation of empty containers at the Chattogram port, according to Port Authority.
Revenue collection in the July-May period recorded Tk44,228.40 crore against a target of Tk55,807 crore.
In 2013, the Chattogram port ranked 86th in the Lloyd’s List ranking of the 100 busiest ports across the globe. After that, the port’s position continued to improve. In 2019, it reached 58th place, but due to the decrease in container transport in 2020, the port slipped nine notches to rank 67th.
Chittagong port is known as one of the busiest ports in the world in handling containers. The seaport was launched in 1977 by handling only six TEUS (20-foot-sized) containers, the port now handles an average of 3 million containers a year.
Messenger/Disha
