Ctg port handled record cargo traffic in 2013
Goods transport through the Chittagong Port increased 5.58 percent year-on-year in 2013 in spite of political turmoil in last quarter of the year, which severely disrupted the transit of goods to and from the premier port.
Last year, a total of around 4.42 crore tonnes of goods were transported through the port in contrast to 4.19 crore tonnes in 2012, according to data from the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA).
CPA Secretary Syed Farhad Uddin Ahmed credited the uninterrupted operation during the political turmoil for the rise in goods traffic.
“Port activities were not closed even for a single day during the countrywide shutdowns and blockades,” he said, while acknowledging the efforts of the CPA officials and staff and support from the stakeholders.
Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, former first vice-president of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the goods traffic would have been much higher were there no political unrest in the second half of the year, which badly hampered business activities.
Meanwhile, the majority of the transported goods last year were imported ones: 3.90 crore tonnes against only 52 lakh tonnes.
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