Ctg port widens container storage capacity by 18pc
Users of Chittagong port are expected to get better services as it has increased container storage capacity by about 18 percent, adding new yards and creating more space in the existing ones.
The port is now able to store 36,357 TEUs (twenty equivalent units) of containers against its previous capacity of 30,886 TEUs, according to a report from a three-member panel formed by Chittagong Port Authority.
New yards were set up at the New Mooring Container Terminal and more space was created at the General Cargo Berth in the last few years, said CPA Terminal Manager Enamul Karim, who headed the committee formed to gauge new capacity.
The increased capacity will benefit the business community as it would take less time to handle containers, Mahbubul Alam, chairman of Port Users' Forum, told The Daily Star.
The port is now able to handle over 2.2 million TEUs of containers a year against its previous capacity of 2 million TEUs, said the terminal manager.
Chittagong port handled 1.54 million TEUs of export and import containers last year, experiencing 9.6 percent growth year-on-year.
The port's capacity depends on the proper use of space and use of modern equipment. The committee placed some recommendations to further enhance capacity at the premier sea port, according to port officials.
Currently, the port has equipment, like the straddle carriers, to handle, transport and stack a maximum of four containers, to a maximum of four.
The committee recommended the purchase of overhead bridge cranes having the ability to stack seven or eight containers—one over the other.
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