Port Ctg could let in bigger ships
Handle up to 600 more TEUs each time
Personal Correspondent, Ctg
Mon Apr 25 2022 12:00 AM Last updated on: Mon Apr 25 2022 3:31 AM
Work is underway to boost the capacity of the country’s premier seaport to handle more cargo and containers, officials said. Picture: star
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Work is underway to boost the capacity of the country’s premier seaport to handle more cargo and containers, officials said. Picture: star
The port of Chattogram may soon be able to accommodate larger vessels with a maximum length of 200 meters and a draft of up to 10 meters, the president of the Port Authority of Chattogram said yesterday. Chattogram (CPA), M Shahjahan.
Work is underway to boost the capacity of the country’s leading seaport to handle more cargo and containers, he said.
For all the latest news, follow the Daily Star’s Google News channel. Currently, ships with a maximum draft of 9.5 meters, the vertical distance from the waterline to the bottom of the ship’s hull, and up to 190 meters in length can berth at some of the main piers in the port.
These have a carrying capacity of 2,000 to 2,200 TEUs. Those with a larger draft of 10 meters can carry 400 TEUs to 600 TEUs more.
The port chairman said British firm HR Wallingford had carried out a survey for a “detailed hydrological and hydraulic study on the Karnaphuli River” stretching from the outer harbor anchorage to the Kaptai Dam on the Karnaphuli River.
The company is expected to submit its final report by June and after receiving its report, the authority will make a decision on allowing larger vessels, the president informed.
Sources said the investigation team verbally informed the authority that the port can allow ships with a draft of 10 meters.
The President of the CPA addressed as guest of honor at a meeting to exchange views with journalists marking the eve of a 135th Port Day.
Shahjahan described development initiatives taken to improve the port’s efficiency and capacity.
About 90% of the construction work for the Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) has been completed, he said, hoping that the terminal, with an annual handling capacity of 4.50 lakh twenty-foot equivalent (TEU), would start operating by June.
The PCT will have a jetty 600 meters long where three container ships, each 190 meters long and with a draft of 9.5 meters, can dock simultaneously.
The terminal will also have a 220 meter dolphin jetty to accommodate an oil tanker.
The Chattogram district administration has already handed over about 67 acres of land to the CPA for a Bay Terminal project on the Patenga coast, Shahjahan said.
The Department of Transport sent a letter to the Department of Lands a few days ago handing over 803 acres of additional land for the project in exchange for a nominal sum of money, he said.
He said the cabinet’s procurement committee had recently approved the appointment of a South Korean joint venture as an international consultant for the Bay Terminal project.
He hoped the company would be able to submit a development project proposal within three to four months.
He also said land acquisition for a Matarbari port development project in Moheshkhali has been completed and the port is now under construction.
Once the Bay Terminal and the Port of Matarbari come into existence, the capacity of the Port of Chattogram will increase fourfold, he said.
The CPA has built a yard of about 5.80 lakh square meters over the past 10 years, which has increased its container handling capacity to 55,000 TEUs, he informed.
The port chairman said that during the pandemic, all ports around the world have faced prolonged container and vessel congestion, but the port of Chattogram has not faced much.
He informed that in 2021, the port saw growth of around 13% in all three areas – container, cargo and ship handling.
To meet future increases in handling demand, the CPA is purchasing 104 different types of container handling equipment this year, he said.
CPA (Traffic) Director Enamul Karim, in a PowerPoint presentation, claimed that the port of Chattogram was, by all accounts, ready to handle $80 billion in exports a year.
He explained that in 2021, the port handled 15.50 lakh TEUs of export containers, of which only 7.50 lakh TEUs were loaded with export cargoes and the rest were exported empty.
Mentioning that the handling of loaded and empty containers is the same for CPA, the CPA Director said the port can handle double the current export volume with the existing facilities.
So while it is currently worth $44 billion in exports, the port can currently handle exports worth $80 billion, he said.
CPA members Kamrul Amin, Md Mostafizur Rahman and Mahbubur Rahman were present among others.