CHITTAGONG: Faced with substantial growth in cargo, container and ships, the Chittagong Port is struggling to cope with the increased demand, the head of the Chittagong Port Authority has acknowledged.
A total of 2,709 ships arrived in the prime seaport in 2015 and the number was 3,014 in 2016. The volume of bulk cargo and containerised cargo has also increased over the last two years.
In 2015, the port handled 64.97 million tonnes of cargo, which rose to 77.26 million tonnes in 2016.
On the other hand, the port handled 2,024,207 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent unit) of containers in 2015 and 2, 346,909 TEUs of containers in 2016. The annual growth of container handling in 2016 was 15.9 per cent while the cargo handling growth was 17 per cent.
Coping with the growth of cargo, containers and ships is a big challenge, but the port authority is trying its best to face the challenge, said the authority chairman M Khaled Iqbal.
His comments came while addressing reporters today on the occasion of Chittagong Port’s 130th anniversary at the Munshi Fazlur Rahman auditorium of the port authority.
The port authority has drawn up short, medium and long-term plans to tackle the growth challenge under the strategic master plan of the government’s vision 2021, vision 2041, sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the 7th five-year plan.
He said that the port is yet to commission the New Mooring Container Terminal constructed nine years ago due to shortage of necessary container handling equipment.
After assuming the office of chairman of the CPA, he has been working hard on the procurement process and finalised buying 11 rubber tyred gantry (RTG) cranes over the last few months, he said.
He said that the port authority has signed agreements to procure four straddle carriers and five container movers, which will reach the port soon.
The CPA has also issued work order for buying one gantry crane. These will also reach the port shortly, he added.
The CPA has invited quotations from international bidders to procure six ship-to-shore gantry cranes.
Besides, the port authority has started the process of the capital dredging in the port’s channel in the Karnaphuli River under direct procurement method (DPM). The port is likely to gain vetting from the Law Ministry for dredging the river from Sadarghat to Bakolia shortly.
The capital dredging is an important task of the port authority to free up the navigability of the channel. A Malaysian company was offered the task, but the company left the project half way through and filed a writ with the High Court alleging the CPA.
CPA board members Zulfiquer Aziz, Zafar Alam, Shaheen Alam, director (traffic) Golam Sarwar, chief engineer (mechanical) Nazmul Huq, among others, were present at the press conference.
