Ctg port plans to go fully digital by December

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) is planning to launch massive digital transformation aimed at turning the entire operational activities of Chattogram port, the country’s main gateway of seaborne foreign trade, into a fully paperless ‘smart port’ by next December.

The initiative is to modernise operations, cut transportation costs, ensure transparency and ease chronic traffic congestion around port entrances and exit points.

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The drive follows a recent progress review meeting led by CPA Chairman Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman.

The meeting focused on expanding existing digital services, integrating inter-departmental platforms and eliminating remaining manual workflows.

The meeting focused on expanding existing digital services, integrating inter-departmental platforms and eliminating remaining manual workflows.

Record shows Chattogram port handled a record 3.4 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) of containers, 138 million tonnes of general cargo and 4,273 vessels in 2025, accounting for roughly 92 percent of Bangladesh’s seaborne general cargo and 98 percent of containerised trade.

“Keeping in account the complex and multi-disciplinary chain work of importers, exporters, shipping lines, C&F agents, freight operators, customs and banks, CPA assessed that true efficiency requires unified digital integration rather than piecemeal online solutions,” CPA Secretary Syed Refayet Hamim told BSS.

He said the new measures will expand digital automation across every operational layer while 100 percent of shipping billing is already being processed online.

Port sources said through a newly established One-Stop Service Center featuring API integration with Sonali Bank PLC, container and consignee’s billing has been transitioning and linking fully to the Terminal Operating System (TOS).

Importers and their nominated internal service providing agents can make payments in round the clock, including during weekends and holidays. Additionally, an auto-pull payment system will launch in order to settle port charges unpaid after 72 hours through set digital platform, the sources added.

Building on last July’s milestone, which synchronised the TOS with the National Board of Revenue’s (NBR) ASYCUDA World system to digitise import container delivery orders, importers can now track documents online without physical paperwork, the port sources said.

Refayet said the CPA is implementing ‘Time Slot Management’, online cart tickets and e-gates passes to eliminate vehicle existing tailbacks at entry and exit points.

Equipment Interchange Receipts (EIR) are being synchronised with e-gate passes, allowing truck entry, cargo loading, and exit schedules to operate within a pre-planned digital framework.

Customs auction deliveries, special delivery assignments and Inland Container Depot (ICD) workflows are being integrated via NBR and Customs APIs, enabling real-time data sharing across all logistics partners, he added.

The port secretary said digital systems will expand up to bulk cargo handling, while plans are underway for the upcoming Bay Terminal feature a slot-by-slot digital parking ticket system to control vehicle flow.

Refayet highlighted that the foundations for this shift are already proven. The port’s ‘Port Single Window - CPA Sky’ platform, launched earlier this year, offers single-login access to port services alongside digital radar and real-time vessel tracking.

Besides, the TOS dashboard currently handles 60,000 to 65,000 gate entries monthly, hitting a single-day record of 7,080 gate passes.

By converting the entire multi-lair operations -- from vessel arrival and bill payment to customs clearance and final goods delivery -- into a unified, trackable workflow, CPA’s core target is to improve major operational indexes, reduce in turnaround times, accelerate revenue collection and bring significant dynamism in overall port management in line with automated and technology-driven seaborne export-import trade operation by ports in developed worlds, the sources said.