Only 20pc of Pangaon port's capacity utilised

Only around 20 percent of the Pangaon port's capacity could be utilised since it became operational some four years ago due to several reasons, including high shipping charges and traffic jam.

The problems came to light at a meeting at the port, situated on the Buriganga river in Dhaka's Keraniganj upazila, yesterday in presence of Finance Minister AMA Muhith and Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan.

The meeting was organised with stakeholders, including importers and exporters, on how to best use facilities at Pangaon Inland Container Terminal.

Businesspersons said the port would lose appeal if the problems persist. Shipping Secretary Ashok Madhav announced that a committee would be formed to sit once a month and try to solve problems that arise.

The committee will be led by a shipping ministry joint secretary and comprise representatives of government organisations concerned and stakeholders, he said. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the terminal, costing over Tk 250 crore, in November 2013 to reduce the load on the Chittagong port and for easy transportation of export and import goods along river routes.

The terminal has the capacity to annually handle 116,000 containers.

Around 4,500 were handled in 2016 and about 11,000 in the first seven months of this year. The port authorities expect the year-end figure to reach 20,000.

President of Importers Association Amir Hossain said use of the terminal was not increasing as shipping lines were charging higher rates for carrying goods than that of road transport.

A ship charges $50 or around Tk 4,000 for every tonne of goods they carry from Chittagong to the Pangaon port over river routes. By road, the carrying cost is Tk 1,000.

Offices of most of the shipping lines are in Banani. Going there is time consuming due to heavy traffic jam. Hossain said it would be convenient for businesspersons if the offices were near Keraniganj.

Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and other business representatives also cited the shipping charge as one of the biggest hurdles to making full use of the port's capacity.

No shipping line owner was present at the meeting. 

An official of a shipping line, Nizamuddin Ahmed, said import goods came from Chittagong but none of export travel from Pangaon to Chittagong.

Ships have to travel empty on return route from Pangaon. The ship owners add cost for both ways in their freight rate.  He said exporters could reduce costs by 50 percent if they transported goods through Pangaon.

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin said time was an important factor when transporting goods for export.

Carrying goods over road from places like Ashulia and Savar is time consuming. He recommended carrying goods to Pangaon using river routes.

At present, one ship travels from Chittagong to Pangaon every three days. He said the frequency should be one ship every day.

The stakeholders also suggested turning roads and bridges leading to Pangaon to be expanded into four lanes.

The shipping ministry and the National Board of Revenue in a presentation focused in detail on the benefits of using the Pangaon port.

The officials said the tariff charged for using the Pangaon terminal was 50 to 60 percent lower than that for other ports and that a ship would soon begin running on the Chittagong-Pangaon route every day.

They also revealed various plans on increasing navigability of rivers and widening roads.

Muhith, in a brief speech, announced that the government would build a floating terminal at the Chittagong port's outer anchorage in the next one and a half years.