From a Correspondent, Chattogram
Chittagong port has been facing container congestion due to the slow delivery during the Eid-ul-Azha closure and fresh lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Imported cargo containers are coming to Chittagong port every day according to the previous schedule. However, goods delivery from the port has been clogged, that have hampered trade activities.
In this situation, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has approved the removal of all kinds of imported containers to 19 private depots to reduce congestion at Chittagong port.
On the recommendation of the Ministry of Shipping, the NBR issued an official order in this regard on Sunday afternoon.
Contacted, Rear Admiral M Shahjahan, Chairman of Chittagong Port, told Bangladesh Post that with the approval to move containers at the depot, there will be no congestion of containers at the port for the time being.
``Factories that are open in lockdown have started unloading products,’’ he said.
According to statistics from the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), a total of 49,018 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of containers were lying at the port yard till Sunday morning against the total stocking capacity of 49,018 TEU containers.
A total of 1,901 TEUs were delivered in 24 hours, while 4,243 TEUs have arrived at the port in containers full of imported goods. At the normal level of Chittagong port there are 30,000 to 35,000 containers.
Since Friday, strict restrictions have been put in place to prevent corona infections. As the factory was closed at that time, unloading of goods from the port decreased abnormally. There were piles of container goods in the port.
The Chittagong Port Authority sent a letter to the Ministry of Shipping seeking the intervention of the NBR in taking initiative to remove the containers at the private depot Saturday last. Following the letter from the port, the NBR issued an order on the recommendation of the Ministry of Shipping on Sunday.
As per the rules, there is an obligation to unload 38 types of goods imported through the port at private depots. The rest of the goods had to be unloaded at the port. According to the new order, importers will be able to unload all types of imported goods at the depot till 31 August.
Contacted, Nurul Qayum Khan, president of Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) suggested that not only the containers have to be deposited, but also steps have to be taken to speed up the unloading process.
``Otherwise, it will not be possible to keep containers in ports and private depots for a while,’’ he said.
