Mongla turns into 3 dimensional int’l sea port: Chairman

Bagerhat Correspondent :

Mongla is one of the main attraction of the south-western region and the 2nd Sea Port of the country. Centering the Port a good number of new mills and factories were constructed around it and trade and commerce were increased to a great extent. So, this port has been playing a very important role in driving out the unemployment through creating jobs in the (south-west) region as well as the total economical development of the whole country since its inception in the year of 1950.
The Port situated on the bank of the river Pashurf under Mongla Upazila in Bagerhat district has now become a 3 dimensioned International Sea Port as it is now directly connected with water, land and Railway routes. After the opening of long desired Padma Bridge for traffic the export-import of goods now takes only 3 hours to reach from the capital city Dhaka to Mongla Port and vice-versa on land route. Mongla is now the nearest International Sea Port from the capital city and broke it’s all the past record. One stop service for 24 hours is going on at the Port for all the 7 days in a week. At present as many as 47 ships can anchor with jetties, mooring buoys and anchorages at a time at the port.
These facilities have advanced the Mongla Port one step forward. The Port has been playing an important role in importing food grains, cement-clinkers, fertilizer, motor vehicles, machineries, rice, wheat, coals, stones, maize, oil seeds, LPG gas and exporting white fish, shrimps, lobsters, jute and jute products, frozen food, crabs, clay-tiles, garments, silk-cloths and general cargos in the economic sector of the country. Mongla Port authorities disclosed, in order to push this Sea Port in operation for 24 hours some 69 navigation buoys were set in the different places of the Pashur channel of the Port for the easy movement of the foreign ships.
It was already mentioned earlier that as a result, some 47 ships can anchor with the mooring buoys and anchorages at a time. Transit sheds, ware houses, container yards, some 161 refer plug points (for the preservation of frozen food), car parking yard, 136 handling equipments and 32 tug boats, helping water vessels are existing at the port for the betterment of the export-importers. In order to increase the capacity of Mongla Sea Port some 04 Projects are now ongoing.
After the completion of the dredging works in the inner Bar of the Pashur channel ships with 10 drafts will be able to arrive at the jetties of the Port directly and consequently, the ships with 10 drafts can be handled very easily.
On the other hand, it will be very helpful to save the Pashur channel and Sundarbans mangrove forest from the modern wastages of the port and the polluted and oozed out of the fuel oil of ships.
If the project for procuring of the helpful ships for the Port and the execution of the safe (Pashur) channel is completed the handling of the sea going ships will be very easy and the rescue operation can be conducted at the time of emergency and inclement weather.
On the other hand, if the Project for the Up-gradation of Mongla Port is translated into practice 150 crore tons of cargoes and 400 lakh TEEUZ containers can be handled and if the construction works of the two half-done jetties at Mongla Port are completed the port will have the capacity for the handling of some more 2 TEEUZ containers. Due to the gradual development and increasing its use and activities the earning of revenue of the Port is gradually increasing since the financial year of 2008-2009.
In comparison with the financial year of (2022-2023) the arrival of foreign commercial ships at the Port increased 2.30 per cent, cargo 9.72 per cent, container 16.78 per cent and cars 13 per cent increased in the financial year of 2023-2024. On the other hand, 29 lakh metric tons cargoes were exported and imported during the first 4 months (from July to October) of the current financial Year (2024-2025). After procuring the modern machineries more than 24 containers are being handled at the port within 24 hours for the first time and due to continuous dredging the channel in front of 5 jetties some 5 ships are being handled at a time.
Rear Admiral Shaheen Rahman, Chairman of Mongla Port Authorities told, within 74 years of the establishment of Mongla Port it was turned into a 3 dimensioned International Sea Port as it is now connected with water, land and Railway routes. As a result, it is now playing a very important role in import and export of the cargoes. The Chairman of the Port added, after the completion of 4 projects undertaken by the government the capacity of the Port will be multiplied many times and as a result, export of the transit goods of the adjacent countries like India, Nepal and Bhutan may be possible. On the other hand, through using Mongla Port the transportation of goods to Rajshahi, Rangpur and Barishal divisions through Railway, water and land routes are possible and consequently, transit cost of the goods will be minimized.