Lack of cargo flights to Ctg hurting traders

Chattogram Bureau :
Importers are now forced to bring in essential items, including RMG raw materials, motor and computer parts, through Dhaka airport, spending more time and money while the export of vegetables through Shah Amanat International Airport has also decreased. Other items being imported through the capital’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport are accessories, motor parts and computer parts, say businessmen.Daily vegetable exports to the Middle East through Chattogram airport during regular times used to be 10-15 tonnes, which are now down by 40%, according to the city’s vegetable exporters.General Secretary of Chattogram Vegetable Exporter Association Forkan Rubel said traders have not yet recovered from the losses incurred during the coronavirus pandemic.
After cargo handling activities in Chattogram started in 2002, Thai Air, Kuwait Air, Silk Airlines, Thai Smile, Etihad and Emirates airlines operated cargo flights to Shah Amanat International Airport. Since 2010 commercial cargo flight numbers have been dropping primarily due to a lack of warehouses.Currently only Emirates operates cargo flights, which too are irregular. The last flight was on 13 October.
Businessmen say industrial factories are constantly increasing in the Chattogram region. Along with Chattogram EPZ, Karnaphuli EPZ and Korean EPZ, the country’s largest economic zone, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar is being developed. Besides, a number of industrial factories are being developed on both sides around the Karnaphuli tunnel. As a result, the demand for air cargo is also increasing in this region.