Port of Chittagong attained a 5.36% growth in container handling and a 4.18% rise in cargo handling in the fiscal year 2023-24 which ended on 30 June.
Bangladesh's prime seaport could attain the growth despite a 6.63% decline in ships incoming to the port in the year amid import restrictions due to a severe shortage of foreign currency reserve
Data shows that the port handled some 3.169 million TEU of containers and 123.2 million tonnes of cargo in the just concluded fiscal year, up from handling of 3.07 million TEU boxes and 118.3 million tonnes of cargo in the previous year.
In fiscal year 2023-24, the port handled fewer vessels, numbering 3,971, compared to 4,253 vessels in the previous year.
However, the port officials say despite handling of lower number of vessels, both the number of boxes and cargo volume went up in the just-ended year since this time larger vessels have docked at the port.
In the last fiscal year, the port authority raised the drought limit to 10 meters from 9.5 meters thus shipping agents brought larger vessels which helped to handle an increased volume of boxes and cargoes, according to Mohammad Omar Faruk, spokesperson of Chittagong Port Authority.
He said the port’s handling capacity has been increased through collecting an adequate number of equipment while storage capacity has also been increased.
Vessels up to 200 meters in length and 10 meters in draught have been allowed to dock in the Chittagong port since March last year.
President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) Mahbubul Alam said the economy of the country has been growing and the size of the national budget is also increasing, leading to a rise in imports and exports.
“This is also reflected in the handling of containers and cargo at the ports of the country,” he pointed out.
Sharar Nayel
Asia Correspondent
