Keep taking delivery of import cargoes during Eid holidays, Ctg port urges stakeholders
The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has urged the importers and other stakeholders to continue taking deliveries of import cargoes during Eid holidays as part of effort to avoid any possible congestion at the port.
The CPA made the call on Tuesday in directives sent to different businesps bodies and stakeholders.
Through separate letters, the port authority directed Bangladesh Shipping Agents' Association and Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association to keep the offices of shipping agents and freight forwarders open with limited manpower during the time.
The CPA also sent letters to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry to take steps in this regard.
CPA Chairman Rear Admiral M Shahjahan also sat in a meeting with the port users and stakeholders today morning and sought their cooperation for the sake of smooth operation of the port.
During the two-month countrywide shutdown last year after the Covid-19 outbreak, the seaport faced acute and prolonged container and vessel congestion due to stockpiling of undelivered containers.
The port authority this year took some prior initiatives, including issuance of letters to the importers and other users and kept asking the users repeatedly to keep the port congestion free.
"Because of the bitter experience of last year, we took such initiatives and got benefit," said CPA Director (Traffic) Enamul Karim.
The port has so far faced zero congestion even during the Ramadan and lockdown as the delivery activities have been running smoothly, he claimed.
As of today morning, the total number of containers lying at the port yards was at 38,176 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), which is around 78 per cent of the port's storage capacity of 49,018 TEUs.
Though the delivery of import goods marked a sharp fall immediately after the lockdown was imposed, it gradually increased.
Import cargoes of on average over 4,000 TEUs have been delivered daily from the port in the last one week against the port's average of 4,500 TEUs.
Abdullah Jahir, chief operating officer of Saif Marine Ltd, a shipping and freight forwarding company, said delivery of import cargo did not slow to a great extent thanks to the prior measures taken by the CPA.
As the factories remained open during the lockdown, the pace of delivery was good, he said.
Hailing CPA's latest move on keeping delivery activities smooth during Eid holidays, Jahir said delivery usually drops remarkably during Eid holidays, which ultimately causes congestion.
Almost all the stakeholders present at today's meeting assured of cooperating with the port authority during Eid holidays, an official of a shipping agent who attended the meeting said.
The port would remain shut only for a half day on the Eid day, CPA Director Karim added.
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