New measures to ease box traffic kicked off at Chtg Port

Chittagong: Two private inland container depots (ICDs) will start handling of import cargoes from Sunday next while the National Board of Revenue (NBR) is allowing another private off-dock station -- OCL -- to store empty containers to help ease the serious congestion of feeder vessels and containers at the outer anchorage, port channel and different yards of Chittagong port.


Besides, country's all the major chamber organisations have agreed in principle to issue a joint press statement urging the businesses to expedite the delivery of their respective import cargoes from the Chittagong port to help reduce the congestion persisting at the Chittagong port over the last three weeks.


Chittagong Customs House (CCH) authority organised an urgent meeting at its board room Tuesday in this connection. The representatives from the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), the Chittagong unit of C& F Agents Association, feeder vessels operators, private ICDs and other stakeholders attended the meeting.


Sources said the meeting approved the draft of modus operandi of private handling of import cargoes and it will be finalised today (Wednesday).


Commissioner of the CCH Farid Uddin moderated the meeting while the Director Traffic of the CPA Md Ahsanul Kabir, General Secretary of Chittagong Unit of C&F Agent Association Altaf Hossain Chowdhury Bachchu, Director of CCCI Md Amirul Hoque, Swapan kumar Gosh of QC containers, Joint Commissioners of the CCH Mannan Sikder, Khairuzzaman and representatives from shipping lines and private ICDs attended the meeting.


Business leaders present at the meeting said they have welcomed the move for the use of private terminals to handle import cargoes and added that they favoured minimum charges at the those depots.


Senior officials of the Chittagong Custom and the CPA expressed their satisfaction over the steps taken so far in easing the congestion and said the problem of congestion is expected to be over within the next 10 days.


Port officials said two private depots-Issac Brothers and 'X' and 'Y' shed - have been given permission for handling import cargoes and the CPA is allowing only nine import items.


They also said the CPA is storing containers at the road side of the port park and using one of its expanded yard near Chittagong Container Terminal for the purpose.


When asked about the risk of delivering imported items through the private depots, official s at the Customs and port said containers will be directly send to the depots under strict surveillance.


Country's main seaport of Chittagong is currently experiencing huge congestion of feeder vessels at the outer anchorage and the port channel.


The main line operators (MLO) threntened to impose surcharge on the importers as the turnaround time has increased significantly because of the congestion. Sources at the feeder vessels operators said the turnaround time now stands at 25 days against the 15 days.


The MLO through their local agents on Wednesday last in Dhaka threatened to impose US$ 130 per 20 feet-container for such delay at the port.