Despite dollar woes, cargo handling increases at Ctg Port

Chattogram Bureau :

In the just concluded fiscal 2023-24, Chattogram Port witnessed a paradoxical trend – a 6.63 per cent decline in ship handlings aposed with a notable rise in container and cargo handling by 5.36 per cent and 4.18 per cent respectively.
The puzzle unfolds as follows: the easing of global commodity prices and the dollar crisis, coupled with a reduction in ship waiting times and an increase in the port’s draught from 9.5 metres to 10 metres, has enabled Chattogram Port to handle more cargoes compared to the previous year.
As a result, these factors not only collectively facilitated efficient performance throughput but also boosted the revenue of Chattogram Custom House by nearly Tk. 6,000 crore, or 9.42 per cent, despite the drop in ship numbers.
Talking about the growth, Mohammad Omar Faruk, secretary of Chittagong Port Authority, told The New Nation “The waiting time for ships at Chattogram port is now one to one and a half days. Moreover, the increase in the draught limit has made way for larger ships to enter the port.”These factors have mainly contributed to the growth in cargo and container handling compared to last year.”
According to the port authorities, 15 years ago, the average waiting time for ships at the outer anchorage was 12 days, but that has now been reduced to one to one and a half days. Sometimes, ships can directly berth at the jetty from the outer anchorage, with some even receiving on-arrival berthing.
According to port data, in the recently concluded fiscal year, Chattogram Port handled about 31.68 lakh (TEUs) of containers, 12.32 crore tonnes of bulk cargo and 3,971 commercial ships.
In comparison, the previous fiscal year saw around 30.7 lakh TEUs of containers, 11.83 crore tonnes of cargo and 4,253 commercial ships being handled.
Mohammed Shafiqul Alam Jewel, vice chairman of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, told that “Though the number of ships arriving at the port has been reduced, the draught limit increase has benefited container and cargo handling.
According to Chattogram Customs House, the revenue for the fiscal 2023-24 was Tk. 68,562.72 crore, an increase of Tk. 5,904.91 crore from the previous year’s Tk. 62,657.81 crore.