Dwaipayan Barua

The yards at the Chattogram port, which are designated for storing containers loaded with imports, exceeded their capacity yesterday as daily handovers to consignees did not gain pace during the Eid-ul-Azha holiday over the past week.

Containers packed with imports are starting to pile up at the Chattogram port due to a drastic drop in the delivery of goods, as factories and vehicles are yet to resume running in full swing amidst the Eid-ul-Azha holidays.

The debate over whether to lease out the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) at Chittagong Port to a foreign operator is intensifying, with political parties, including the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and left-leaning groups, uniting in opposition.

Picture a crowded harbour where the salty seabreeze carries whispers of far-off lands, where merchants of all creed and caste haggle over silks and spices, and where towering ships of all varieties – Chinese junks, Arab dhows, and Portuguese carracks – sway gently in the waters of the Bay of Bengal.

The US government’s recent announcement to hike the tariff on Bangladeshi goods by an additional 37 percent has already begun affecting the country’s readymade garment (RMG) industry, according to a leading denim exporter.

Concerns are increasingly being voiced over the Chattogram port’s largest terminal, New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT), being leased out to a foreign operator, as the interim government furthers the initiative undertaken by the previous Awami League government.

Constructed at a cost of Tk 2,000 crore, the terminal was completed by the Chittagong Port Authority in 2007

After a long wait, the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) finally signed a deal yesterday with a Japanese joint venture to construct a terminal for a deep-sea port at Cox’s Bazar’s Matarbari, some 350 kilometres southeast of capital Dhaka.

The long-awaited journey towards Bangladesh’s first deep-sea port at Matarbari in Cox’s Bazar is finally approaching a major milestone.

The contract will be signed on April 22 under the phase 1 of the Matarbari Port Development Project

After seeing very little progress over the past one and a half years, the Bay Terminal project at the Chattogram port is expected to gain momentum as a development project proposal (DPP) for three crucial components is expected to be placed soon.

The feud between shipping agents and berth operators over increasing the onboard container handling rate has remained unresolved for over three months now, despite repeated attempts by the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA).

Shipping agents, berth operators deadlocked over Tk 205 rate hike

Chattogram port is seeing a backlog in import container delivery as many businesses are yet to collect their cargo despite five days having passed since the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday..Although the country’s premier seaport remained fully operational during the holiday, the expected benefits coul

Local steel industry is enduring a turbulent phase, grappling with subdued demand due to sluggish government spending and wavering private sector confidence, driven largely by political uncertainty.

Tension surrounds the upcoming biennial election of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association (BSAA), scheduled to be held next month, as a group of outsider pro-BNP business leaders are allegedly pressuring for the selection of an unelected committee comprising their chosen members.

A prior warning from the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) about a fourfold hike in container storage charges for longer stays has proved fruitful in combating acute congestion inside the port yards.

Container handling at six jetties under Chattogram port’s general cargo berth (GCB) remains disrupted as berth operators continue slowing down operations amid an unresolved dispute with shipping agents over onboard container handling charges.

CPA seeks shipping ministry’s intervention

The shipping ministry has withdrawn the fixed freight rate for vessels on the Chattogram-Pangaon route in a bid to revive cargo transport via river, which has seen a drastic decline over the past year.