First ICT at Pangaon could miss deadline

Bangladesh's first riverine inland container terminal (ICT) at Pangaon in Dhaka might miss the deadline of June 2011 to launch its operation, frustrating manufacturers and importers, officials at the BIWTA told the FE Friday. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) is implementing the first-ever ICT project at a cost of Tk 1.77 billion funded by Chittagong Port Authority (CPA). "We might miss our deadline to complete the project by June 2011," said Md Mojibur Rahman, project director of Pangaon ICT. Mr Mojib said it had some delay during issuing of work orders for civil works. "We've finished nearly 85 per cent of works so far," he said. Shuttle vessels or small barges will carry containers between Pangaon and Chittagong port by the river route. A shuttle vessel carrying 100 containers will require 18 hours to reach the ICT from Chittagong. The cost of carrying containers through the river route will largely be reduced, once the ICT goes into operation, BIWTA officials said. BIWTA senior officials said the government is yet to take any move to hire operator for the ICT which is expected to handle at least 116000 TEUs containers annually. Currently, Bangladesh Railway wagons carry more than 80,000 TEUs twenty-foot equivalent units) containers per annum amid a great demand for containerised services mostly by garment manufacturers. Rail roads take at least 10-15 days for a container to arrive in Dhaka from Chittagong port due to shortage of railway locomotives and wagons. However, CPA has floated an international tender to procure mobile harbour cranes to facilitate container operation during loading-unloading from feeder vessels onto shuttle ships. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Abdus Salam Murshedy said they had been demanding quick implementation of the ICT project for long. "The exporters send their cargoes to Chittagong through covered vans also, which is expensive and risky and takes much time due to traffic jam in the country's busiest Dhaka-Chittagong Highway," Mr Murshedy added. Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) president Salim Osman said knit manufacturers will also be able to receive raw materials quickly once the service begins. "It will cut down our transportation costs substantially but we are really frustrated at its snail's pace of progress," he added. The average water draught in the riverine route is 3.6 metres. The barges with the capacity of carrying around 100 containers will be able to ply on the waterways. The Pangaon ICT will be equipped with three jetties and modern container handling equipment including gantry cranes. The operator who will take charge of the ICT, will procure other equipment. The project was first conceived in 1994-95 when Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) conducted a feasibility study on it.