Fewer trains, bigger backlog at Ctg port

Container delivery from Chattogram port to the inland container depot (ICD) in Dhaka's Kamalapur has slowed staggeringly due to a lack of sufficient freight trains, with many importers not getting their goods even after weeks while costs continue to increase.

Currently, at least 1,259 TEUs of containers belonging to more than 400 importers are lying at Chattogram port, the country's main external trade gateway. The figure is almost double the volume compared to the same period last month, according to port data.

Both traders and port officials blame a shortage of railway engines for the growing backlog, while a Bangladesh Railway official says they are taking initiatives to resolve the crisis.

GROWING BACKLOG

According to port data, 655 ICD-bound containers were waiting at the yard on May 31. The number rose to 918 on June 30 and 1,363 on July 31. As of Sunday, August 24, at least 1,259 containers were still awaiting transport to Kamalapur ICD.

Bangladesh Railway data shows a similar decline in freight train operations. In May, 125 container trains ran on the Chattogram–Kamalapur route. The number dropped to 91 in June, 83 in July, and only 68 trains until August 24 this month.

Omar Faruk, secretary of Chittagong Port Authority, told The Daily Star, "There is a demand for six to seven container trains daily on the Chattogram-Kamalapur route, but the railway can't provide even half of that."

"We have written several times to increase engine allocations. Unless more engines are supplied, the congestion cannot be eased," he added.

Railway officials, while acknowledging the shortfall, say initiatives have been taken to import new engines and repair old ones to resolve the crisis.

"The shortage of engines has been a longstanding issue for us. Whenever passenger-line engines face shortages or frequent breakdowns, the supply of engines for freight transport is reduced," said Mohammad Subaktagin, general manager of Bangladesh Railway's East Zone.

"Under ongoing railway projects, we are planning to import new engines and repair a number of old ones. Once these initiatives are implemented, the railway's share in freight transport will increase further," he added.

"SIMPLY UNFAIR"

Importers, meanwhile, are frustrated with slow delivery and rising costs.

Dhaka-based importing and trading firm Janata Enterprise imported six containers of steel coal from South Korea at the end of July, but the consignment is yet to reach the ICD in Kamalapur from Chattogram port by rail.

"Earlier, goods used to reach Kamalapur within five to seven days of being unloaded at Chattogram port. But recently, due to additional allocations of engines for political rallies, fewer are being used for freight," Lokman Hossain, proprietor of Janata Enterprise, told The Daily Star.

On top of that, he noted that if any passenger engine breaks down, freight schedules are cancelled to shift engines to passenger routes. "This is simply unfair."

"It is absurd to tell us to wait until new engines are bought or old ones repaired. Passenger routes have alternatives, but we don't," he added.

According to rules, once goods reach the ICD, importers get four days to clear them without paying port demurrage. "But what's shocking is that we are forced to pay demurrage at Chattogram port even when our containers haven't reached the ICD."

"The inefficiency of port and railway authorities means importers like us are bearing these unjust costs," added Lokman.