Photo: Collected
The operation of the port has resumed gradually following the swearing-in of the interim government. Despite this progress, the Chittagong (CTG) port currently has over 45,000 containers, creating a significant bottleneck. If the congestion is not addressed promptly, it could put additional strain on private depots, exacerbating the logistical challenges faced by the port and related sectors. Efficient and swift resolution of this issue is critical to prevent further disruptions and support the smooth functioning of the supply chain.
Sources said that as the country's law and order situation and communication system have started to become normalize, the speed of port operation has also increased. The port authorities are discharging and shipping containers.
Md Ruhul Amin Sikder, Secretary, Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) told the Daily Messenger “Due to non-functioning of the communication system for the last few days, port operations were disrupted. Now that the situation has started to normalize, the speed of port operations has also increased. More than 45,000 containers were at the port the previous day. Now the traffic is increasing. So, it will gradually decrease.”
If there are too many containers or congestion at the port, the unloading of containers from ships at jetties is hampered. In this context, containers entering the port for shipping from outside depots also have to be kept in the yard. Again, there is a problem with the export-oriented container to unload from the ship. Due to this, the container filled with export goods will increase in the depot.
According to the port, there were 43,000 TEUS (as 20 feet units) containers at Chittagong port on Friday (August 9 August, most of which are filled with imported products. The previous day was 45,000 TEUS containers.
Meanwhile, 19 private depots of the country currently have 8,600 containers loaded with export goods and 12,787 TEUS containers loaded with imported goods. There are currently 43,000 empty containers in the depots.
In the last 24 hours, 2500 TEUS containers have been sent from the depots to the port for shipping. 889 TEUS containers of imported goods have been redeemed. Besides, 1,509 TUS containers of exportable goods including garments have been received by the depots from various manufacturing companies. Besides, 379 TEUS containers of imported goods from the port have arrived at the depots.
The Chittagong Custom House, which earns a revenue of Tk 200 crore per day, was also at a standstill during countrywide transport shutdown during the student-mass movement.
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 Tk 44,228.40 crore against a target of Tk 55,807 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.
Messenger/Disha
