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Chittagong Port Authority chairman Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman said container handling at Chattogram Port has increased by 9.016 per cent in the past three months compared with the same period in 2023.

He disclosed the information in a press conference held at the Shaheed Mohammad Fazlur Rahman Munsi Auditorium of CPA on Tuesday. 

‘We are pleased to report that container handling at Chattogram Port in the last three months reached 8,30,582 TEUs, marking an increase of 76,986 TEUs or 9.016 per cent  compared with the same period of the past year. Overall container handling witnessed a growth of 10.22 per cent during the same period,’ said the CPA chairman.

Despite global economic instability triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the ongoing Middle East crisis, CPA has successfully sustained its cargo and container handling operations through its expertise and experience, Moniruzzaman said. 

Speaking on the reduction in ship waiting times, the CPA chairman said, ‘On July 16, there were 45,500 containers occupying approximately 85 per cent of the port’s total capacity. Over the last three months, this has been reduced to 34,000 containers through systematic innovation. As a result, the average waiting time for ships has dropped from 6-8 days to just one day, with vessels now receiving berthing on arrival at Chattogram Port.’  

Highlighting the port’s financial performance, Moniruzzaman said, ‘In the first four months of the 2024-25 fiscal year, revenue income stood at Tk 1,643.85 crore, reflecting a 21.85 per cent increase compared with the same period of the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, the revenue surplus grew by 28.01 per cent.’

The CPA chairman also touched efforts to establish a Karachi-Chattogram liner route. The vessel MV Yuan Xiang Fa Zhan, operated by HR Shipping Liner, arrived at Chattogram Port from Karachi with 328 containers, the first such consignment on this route. The ship departed on November 12 after unloading the containers. 

Moniruzzaman said that the vessel’s actual container capacity is 2,300 TEUs, but due to low demand for import containers, only 328 containers were transported. Ship owners have expressed interest in operating this route regularly, subject to the demand for import containers. 

Senior CPA officials, including Md Habibur Rahman (member, administration and planning), Commodore M Fazlar Rahman (member, harbour and marine), Mohammad Shahidul Alam (member, finance), and Commodore Kaosar Rashid (member, engineering), were present at the press conference.